Another month and more inconsistency from the Yankees. Their 14-11 record in July showed how much their starters were struggling but also how much their relievers were stepping up to keep them in it in close games.

Carlos Rodon started the month going on the injured list but perhaps this was balanced by Max Fried‘s return on the 22nd.

Ultimately, the Yankees have strength in depth in the starting rotation and the bullpen is not the cause for concern that Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone have been suggesting it might be. But that word inconsistency is at the heart of the matter:

Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP
Kervin Castro rp	0	0	0.00	1	0	1	0	0	0.2	0	0	0	0	2	0.00
Angel Chivilli rp	1	0	0.00	11	0	2	0	0	12.2	7	2	0	1	13	0.63
Brent Headrick rp	2	0	0.59	14	0	2	0	0	15.1	9	1	1	2	23	0.72
Ryan Yarbrough rp	2	1	1.00	6	1	2	0	0	9.0	11	7	1	4	5	1.67
Paul Blackburn rp	1	0	1.33	13	1	2	0	1	20.1	6	3	3	8	20	0.69
David Bednar rp	2	0	1.50	11	0	10	0	7	12.0	5	2	2	2	13	0.58
Cam Schlittler sp	2	1	1.93	5	5	0	0	0	32.2	19	7	7	5	42	0.73
Fernando Cruz rp	0	2	2.31	12	0	2	0	1	11.2	8	5	3	9	12	1.46
Gerrit Cole sp	2	2	2.97	5	5	0	0	0	30.1	24	10	10	4	39	0.92
Max Fried sp	0	0	3.38	2	2	0	0	0	8.0	6	3	3	3	11	1.13
Ryan Weathers sp	1	1	3.71	5	5	0	0	0	26.2	28	11	11	8	28	1.35
Camilo Doval rp	0	1	4.50	8	0	2	0	0	8.0	8	12	4	11	7	2.38
Tim Hill rp	0	0	4.82	11	0	2	0	0	9.1	11	5	5	4	4	1.61
Will Warren sp	1	2	5.47	6	5	0	0	0	24.2	27	15	15	7	25	1.38
Brendan Beck rp	0	1	12.27	1	1	0	0	0	3.2	5	5	5	2	3	1.51
Jake Bird rp	0	0	15.75	5	0	0	0	0	4.0	9	7	7	4	2	3.25
Name/Pos	W	L	ERA	G	GS	GF	CG	Sv	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WHIP

Starters

Cam Schlittler continues to be the Yankees’ trump card. In July, he took two wins and 1 loss from amongst his five starts and had a great monthly ERA of 1.91 and a WHIP of 0.73. He edged Gerrit Cole amongst the Yankees for the highest July strikeout total with 42. Cole had 39. Cole gave up only 4 walks whilst Schlittler gave up 5.

Fried also had quite a good month upon his return, His 2 starts were both no decisions and his WHIP of 1.13 shows promise for August.

Ryan Weathers has been the very model of the aforementioned inconsistency, but his ERA of 3.71 and his WHIP of 1.35 were only marginally worse than Fried’s statistics. The fifth regular starter, Will Warren was given an appearance in relief and his figures show a certain reason for hesitancy on the Yankees’ part. He was by far the weakest of the Yankees’ 5-man rotation. His 5.47 ERA and 1.38 WHIP need to be significantly improved upon.

Two middle relievers were given starts and held up well. Paul Blackburn and Ryan Yarbrough had positive months in both roles. Blackburn with a 0.69 WHIP has contributed far more than we might have hoped for and Yarbrough’s 1.00 ERA saw him looking good too.

Finally, in the starter’s role was Brendan Beck who continues to receive occasional call-ups from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders. His start lasted only 3.2 innings and saw him give up 5 earned runs and a consequently inflated ERA for July of 12.27.

Despite the injury to Fried there was no opportunity for Elmer Rodriguez this month.

Relievers

With both Yarbrough and Blackburn pressed into brief opening roles, the bullpen had to carry even more weight, and this month they were very much up to the fulfilling that role.

Brent Headrick continues to punch very much above his expected weight and this month made 14 appearances with a 0.59 ERA and 0.73 WHIP, with only 2 walks given up in 15.1 innings.

Closer David Bednar had a much better than he had in June. He took 2 wins and 7 saves and coupled these with a 1.50 ERA and an hugely impressive 0.58 WHIP in 11 appearances.

Angel Chivilli, in his latest call-up. was a revelation with a 0.00 ERA in 11 appearances.

Fernando Cruz alternated between being good and indifferent which is reflected in his monthly Win-Loss record of 0-2. In 11.2 innings, he walked 9 batters and he needs to tighten up on been able to hit the location he would normally find.

This time last year, two of the Yankees’ incoming relievers were Camilo Doval and Jake Bird. From the outset, Bird struggled and was relegated to Scranton. This year, he found a spot on the roster coming out of Spring Training, but has now begun to struggle again. After giving up 7 runs in 4 innings, he was designated to Triple-A again. His July ERA of 15.75 and 3.25 WHIP suggests he might not return this team. Doval (4.50 ERA and 2.38 WHIP) couldn’t match Bird’s struggles, but may prove to be a useful trade chip.

Tim Hill has reason to be grateful that many of his fellow relievers did better than expected. His 4.82 ERA, in the last 11 games he appeared in, was really not what the Yankees have come to expect from him and resulted in a 1.61 WHIP.

Kervin Castro enjoyed a brief call-up, pitching 0.2 of an inning without giving up a hit.