Blue Jays vs. Yankees: The fast facts series preview

The Toronto Blue Jays enter play on Monday at 67-51,  a half-game ahead of the Baltimore Orioles for first place in the American League East

Two weeks ago, it looked like the August 15th series between the Blue Jays and Yankees would only hold legitimate playoff implications for one side.

After dealing off Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller, and Carlos Beltran for an impressive haul of prospect capital, the Yankees seemed to be turning a new leaf. Add in the impending retirement of Mark Teixeira and the recent release of Alex Rodriguez, and the times are a-changin’.

Instead of falling out of the race, the Yankees have managed to hang around. They sit 6.5 games behind the Blue Jays in the East, which may still be unattainable, but the addition of the second Wild Card spot has opened up August and September for many teams. New York is currently trailing the Boston Red Sox by 4.5 games for the final spot in the play-in game.

With so many big names departing, New York has debuted two of their most exciting prospects in Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. Judge, now 24 years old, stands 6-foot-7 and 275 pounds (no, that is not a typo). His power bat can turn batting practice into a spectacle more entertaining than the game, and if he’s able to translate that consistently, he has the potential to be a cornerstone for the Yankees. Sanchez, the catcher, is a hard-contact bat with a cannon arm and New York’s number five prospect.

Numbers to Know

The Yankees rank in the bottom third of the league offensively (22nd) with 487 runs scored, though a freshened lineup should aid that.

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• Blue Jays: Adam Cimber, the unlikely decision King

New York also ranks 22nd in home runs with 123, another number that should be improved by the young power bats and Yankee Stadium.

With a .250 average the Yankees rank in the middle of the pack, but their team OPS of .708 ranks 24th.

The pitching hasn’t been there, either. New York sits 20th in baseball with a 4.27 ERA. Toronto ranks sixth at 3.73.

New York is one of seven teams (a list that includes the Blue Jays) that have not thrown a complete game in 2016.

With 50 quality starts from their rotation, the Yankees. Toronto is tied for first place with the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals at 75.

Players to Watch

• Judge already has two home runs in his first seven at-bats. In 93 triple-A games this season, he hit .270 / .366 / .489 with 19 home runs and 65 RBI.
• Sanchez is batting .275 with two home runs at the MLB level over 40 MLB at-bats this season. With the Yankees’ triple-A affiliate, Sanchez hit .282 / .339 / .468 with 10 home runs and 50 RBI.
• Didi Gregorius is hitting .288 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI, leading the Yankees position players with a 2.3 fWAR.
• Brett Gardner has missed the past two games against the Rays with an ankle injury, so the outfielder may be at risk of missing this series.
• Chase Headley owns a 1.8 WAR and is hitting .253 with 10 home runs. He may be one of the names to lose at-bats to the younger players, however.
• Second-baseman Starlin Castro is hitting .260 with 14 home runs and 53 RBI.

Next: What is Smoak's role on Blue Jays once team is healthy?

Scheduled Pitchers

Game 1  –  Monday, August 15th  –  7:05 p.m. ET
R.A. Dickey (8-12, 4.61 ERA)  vs.  Chad Green (1-2, 4.94 ERA)

Game 2  –  Tuesday, August 16th  –  7:05 p.m. ET
Marco Estrada (7-5, 2.95 ERA)  vs.  Michael Pineda (6-10, 5.07 ERA)

Game 3  –  Wednesday, August 17th  –  1:05 p.m. ET
J.A. Happ (16-3, 2.96 ERA)  vs.  CC Sabathia (7-9, 4.20 ERA)