Yankees at the halfway Mark

 This is one of the more intersting Yankee teams in recent memory. It has Alex Rodriguez and CC Sabbathia as the Golden Oldies- milking the ends of great careers, it had Mark Teixera on the comeback trail  showing he is still one of the best in the game.  It has homegrown talent in Mike Gartner and Dellin Betances both destined to be mewmorable Yankees and likely Champions at some point. The offense needs to grow another dimension by using its speed to produce runs and cause defenses to make mistakes. The basic mix is excellent- late inning power and shut down bullpen.

The team is still a work in progress but one must notice a few things. First, they are in first place and have shown resilience and power.  They can dominate at home with left handed power from all along the lineup  Even Steven Drew who is batting in the .190 range has 12  homers and could reach 20 for the season.  Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran have not been  able to sustain over a long period due to injury, if they are back for 2nd half the yanks can be an elite offense.

Second, there have been few trades and signings. The yankees know they have a lot of talent and have not had to beat the bushes this season. They have a solid starting rotation with two rising stars in Tanaka and Michael Pineda.  Eovaldi throws in the upper 90's, certain days show he can be a dominant guy too- he is learning to pitch.  If so, the yanks will have three dominant arms that will be hard to match in post-season. The bullpen is a strength and will be a major reason if they win this year. Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances, Chasen Shreve,  Justin Wilson and Warren offer a scenario where most teams can only get one or two runs- at most- over the last four innings of a game.

Third, the minor leagues send people who have talent and can contribute.  Mason Williams, Ramon Flores, and Cole Figueroa demonstrate that the minors have capable players. Next season they Yankees will have a lot of decisions forced on them by players ready to play in the bigs: Gary Sanchez, Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Jacob Lindgren, and righthander Luis Severino will play their way onto the roster in the Spring.
I think this team has the grit factor- they can lose without losing faith, and this is needed this year with so many good but flawed teams in the mix.  The Yanks are not as good as Baltimore but so far have shown a much greater will to win. Tanaka and Pineda give them better pitching talent when added to Betances and Miller- they can shut down a team as talented as Baltimore in a short series.

 Prediction:  Yanks and Orioles in a memorable pennant race.