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The New York Yankees open the 2022 MLB season as one of the top contenders to win the World Series behind a powerful batting lineup. The Yankees were potentially going to be missing key players under New York City’s vaccine mandate, but the law has been removed ahead of the season. Here’s a look at New York’s projected starting lineup and rotation for the 2022 season.
Update, Opening Day — Aaron Boone is at it early. Not that this is a huge deal, but Gleyber Torres isn’t in the lineup on Friday against the Boston Red Sox. Here’s a look at the lineup. IKF will play short and bat last. DJ is at second and batting fifth. We all kind of knew the season would start with Donaldson as the leadoff, which is unorthodox. The Yankees really need to find a legit leadoff man. If DJ starts to hit again, we should see a shift. Other candidates to bat up front include IKF and Kyle Higashioka, who raked during spring training.
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Donaldson 3B
Judge RF
Rizzo 1B
Stanton DH
LeMahieu 2B
Gallo LF
Hicks CF
Higashioka C
Kiner-Falefa SS
New York Yankees projected starting lineup
1. Josh Donaldson (3B)
2. Aaron Judge (RF)
3. Anthony Rizzo (1B)
4. Giancarlo Stanton (DH)
5. DJ LeMahieu (2B)
6. Joey Gallo (LF)
7. Aaron Hicks (CF)
8. Gleyber Torres (SS)
9. Kyle Higashioka (C)
There’s some moving parts here, particularly if the Yankees decide to mess with the infield. For now, it seems likely LeMahieu gets the start if Torres plays ahead of Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop. There could be some experimentation with Donaldson as well. However, the heart of this lineup is going to be devastating for opposing pitchers. A Rizzo-Judge-Stanton-Gallo core when healthy will wreck the league.
Projected rotation
1. Gerrit Cole
2. Jordan Montgomery
3. Luis Severino
4. Jameson Taillon
5. Nestor Cortes
Cole wasn’t quite the superstar the Yankees hoped he’d be last year, but he was still one of the top pitchers in baseball. Montgomery and Severino are serviceable, while Taillon is a volatile fourth starter. Cortes could grow into a bigger role but that fifth spot could be more flexible in this rotation. Expect the Yankees to make a deadline move in this department if the season is going as planned. Keep an eye on top pitching prospect Clarke Schmidt. He’s on the Opening Day roster and could see some time in the rotation. Chances are the Yanks will opt for a bullpen day instead of a fifth starter. Those days could be led by Cortes, Michael King, JP Sears or Schmidt.