Comparing the Blue Jays to the Yankees – who has the upper hand?

Rotation

This is a department where both teams are stacked. These two rotations have led their teams to an elite team ERA, and both of them have been largely healthy as well. This weekend we’re set to see  Jameson Taillon, Jordan Montgomery and Gerrit Cole from the Yankees, all three of them being very effective up to this point. On the Jay’s side, they’re set to throw out Ross Stripling, Alek Manoah and Yusei Kikuchi.

This is an overall effective trio for the Blue Jays, most notably the hot hand of Ross Stripling. Between starts, spot starts, and multi to single-inning relief appearances, Stripling has been a valuable piece of the Blue Jays pitching staff. The former Dodger wields a lowly FIP of 2.97 while filling the zone to a tune of a 1.7 BB/9.

Alek Manoah has quickly become one of the faces of the franchise at only 24 years of age. Even more impressive, he’s only been in the organization since being drafted back in 2019. Manoah is simply a winner, and does so by limiting hard contact, while still filling the strike zone with multiple plus pitches.

Kikuchi has been the biggest wildcard of the season, which is mostly what Blue Jays fans expected upon signing him. It appeared that after he had reformed his pitch usage he was set on the right track. That was until his short outing against the offensively-challenged Royals, then surrendering four earned to the Orioles on Tuesday. Sunday will be a big test for the left-hander, as he seeks some sort of consistency but does have a solid track record against the Yankees this season to the tune of a 3.07 ERA through three starts.

The other two starters who won’t be appearing this weekend are a couple of valuable pitchers, to say the least. Jose Berrios and Kevin Gausman are similar pitchers to a degree, but one of them has been getting better results than the other. Gausman is pitching like an All-Star once again, even after his rough outing yesterday, while Berrios has had his inconsistencies thus far. Regardless, I believe these two to be a couple of top-tier starters at the top of the Jays’ rotation. The Blue Jays rotation is good, but I have to admit the Yankees rotation is better.

Four of their starters have an ERA under 3.00, the only one who doesn’t being Gerrit Cole. You simply can’t deny that these guys are unreal. Career seasons from Jameson Taillon and Nestor Cortes, a healthy resurgence from Luis Severino and Jordan Montgomery, and simply a slow start to the season for Cole results in the best rotation in baseball. I believed this to be the weak spot for the Yankees coming into 2022, but all five of their hurlers answered the bell, and have yet to falter.

Advantage: Yankees

Bullpen

Both teams have a good rotation, and it appears to be the same case with the bullpen. Both have two of the best closers in the American League while being paired with a strong supporting cast. Despite having Aroldis Chapman’s performance taking a downwards slide as well as an IL stint, the Yankees have embraced Clay Holmes in the closer role, and he’s been nothing short of nasty.

The former Pirate has produced a minuscule 0.28 ERA thus far, though logging only 11 saves. This is due to both taking over the role a bit later, and the Yankees winning games by an amount that restricts any actual save opportunity (3 runs or less). His other pen mates have been excelling as well.

Michael King has transformed himself into a dominant reliever. He’s capable of working multiple innings per outing and striking out hitters while limiting walks. Former Blue Jay, Miguel Castro has fared well this season despite a high walk total, he’s kept an ERA under 3.00. Wandy Peralta and Lucas Luetge have been serviceable out of the bullpen as veteran lefty options. While there are many options to go here, I believe the Blue Jays bullpen to be deeper.

Spearheaded by Canadian closer, Jordan Romano, this bullpen is a strength of the Blue Jays and a key difference between this and last years club. Romano, with 16 saves under his belt, has been as steady as can be. The three set-up men employed by the Jays haven’t been too shabby either. Tim Mayza and Adam Cimber, with WHIPs under 1.00 and have been truly reliable. They’ve also been getting support from the lower ladder guys in the pen. Trent Thornton, despite what social media may want you to think, is a good pitcher. The glasses wearing gladiator has yet to give up a homer and has an ERA of 2.91. Veteran David Phelps has been a blessing as well, answering the call in every situation and producing an ERA under 2.50.

Advantage: Blue Jays

Infield

Both of these clubs offer up some of the best infields in terms of depth and overall talent. These two infields possess the names, star power, and production expected from a postseason team. Still, one stands out from the other.

Starting with the catcher, this might be the easiest decision in the entire comparison. The Yankees have been utilizing two glove-first catchers, Kyle Higashioka and Jose Trevino. The former has yet to produce much of anything offensively, while the latter has been a pleasant surprise with the bat after an early-season trade from Texas. Despite the newfound productivity, this pales in comparison to the offerings of the Blue Jays.

Whether it’s Alejandro Kirk, Danny Jansen, or Gabriel Moreno (or even Zach Collins for a short while), you’re going to receive offensive production. Kirk and Jano both have an OPS+ over 140, while Gabby has shown to be able to handle big league pitching thus far. There are many positives on the defensive side as well. Danny has been on par with the glove up to this point but has a reputation of being a solid catcher. Kirk has been gunning down base stealers while residing in the 91st percentile in framing. Moreno has impressed in his brief time as well, showing excellent pop times and game calling ability.

First base isn’t much of a competition either. Anthony Rizzo is having a productive season but has since cooled down significantly since a hot April. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., despite not putting up super gaudy numbers, has still managed 15 homeruns and a 136 OPS+ while playing solid defence. Advantage Blue Jays again.

The Yankees arrive in Toronto this weekend for a three-game series against the Blue Jays. With both teams being among the best in baseball, who holds the competitive advantage?

Second base presents a solid competition between Gleyber Torres and Santiago Espinal. Talking about defence first, certain metrics actually have these two as comparable. Despite opposing reputations, Torres and Espinal are worth 6 and 4 RDRS (Defensive Runs Saved above Average) as second basemen respectively. If we’re going on the eye test, Blue Jays fans can attest that Espinal is a vacuum in the infield, but math tells us that Gleyber might have an edge. Their offensive contributions compare as well, though they both do it in different ways. Through home run power, and not much else, Gleyber is worth a 125 OPS+. Meanwhile, through contact, plate discipline, and clutch hitting, Espinal’s OPS+ sits at 127+. This matchup is closer than I’d like to admit, but I’m still giving the edge to Espinal.

Third base compares in certain ways as well, as a couple of former Oakland Athletics find themselves at each team’s hot corner. Josh Donaldson and Matt Chapman both profile nearly identical offensively. Both hit the ball hard, have a great eye at the plate, and strike out with somewhat regularity. The difference is the defence, an area that has dropped off for Donaldson in recent years. Chapman, despite a few metrics stating otherwise, is still one of the best. The case is simple, comparable offensively, Chapman’s superior defensively, Blue Jays win.

Shortstop comes last, and I believe it’s not really a competition here either. The Yankees bring glove first Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and the Blue Jays bring Bo Bichette. While IKF beats Bo on defence, Bo is one of the top-hitting shortstops in baseball. Bo remains superior.

There are two infielders on both clubs who are without a set position, D.J. Lemhaieu and Cavan Biggio. We’ve seen Cavan at his best, with a fine glove, top-of-the-line plate discipline, and some power since his return from the IL. Lemhaieu on the other hand offers a more capable defensive skillset and a more consistent bat. I value D.J. over Cavan in this matchup. Despite this Yankee victory, the Blue Jays have far and away from the best infield alignment between the two clubs.

Advantage: Blue Jays

Outfield/DH

Lastly, we’ll go over the outfield and DH offerings from both clubs.

First up, the Blue Jays bring a group of All-Star calibre talents and hopefuls. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and George Springer are enjoying productive seasons, both bringing in an OPS+ above 110. Teoscar Hernandez has begun to find his stride as well, hitting a ball a humble 461 feet this past Wednesday. Sadly, the fun ends there. Raimel Tapia, though he’s been hotter lately, hasn’t displayed any game-changing talent this year. Bradley Zimmer, while gifted in the field, wields a pedestrian OPS+ of 15.

The outfield and DH combination of the New York Yankees is interesting, to say the least. On the not-so-great end of the spectrum, both Joey Gallo and Aaron Hicks have been disappointing. The two historically good hitting outfielders have yet to put much together at the plate this year. Meanwhile, the other three players are all contributing in astronomical ways.

Giancarlo Stanton, between starts in the corner outfield and DH, is in the midst of one of the better seasons of his career. Matt Carpenter, out of nowhere, has had six of his eight hits go over the fence, lifting the Yankees to numerous victories over his 11-game Yankee career. Lastly, Aaron Judge enters this weekend as the AL MVP as of now. While playing both right and centre field, he’s put forward an 201 OPS+ while leading MLB in homers with 25.

The Blue Jays have talent in the outfield, but there’s no ignoring the greatness of Aaron Judge.

Advantage: Yankees

If you’ve been counting, both the Jays and Yankees have the advantage in two separate areas of their roster. Both AL teams are stocked with talent, and this weekend will be a treat not just to fans of those clubs, but to baseball fans as a whole.