These New York Yankees players are primed for a big 2020 season

Rotation Dark Horse: J.A. Happ

Most Yankees fans would agree J.A. Happ had a down year last year. He finished last season with a 12-8 record and 4.91 ERA. He wasn’t used as a starter in the postseason and only appeared for 3.2 innings out of the bullpen.

This was nothing like the previous year for Happ, who once getting traded to the Yankees in late July, pitched to a 7-0 record with a 2.69 ERA. I don’t believe that pitcher, who the New York Yankees acquired and signed to a two-year, $34M extension is gone.

According to Dan Martin of the NY Post, Happ has made some changes, he said, “I plan to try to adjust a little bit of my repertoire the best I [can] to try to go forward. Also, my strengths are my strengths, so I’m trying to mold both of those to make it work as best we can.”

I believe Happ is talking about going back to his mainstay which is a four-seam fastball and living with the results. Last year Happ wasn’t confident in himself and the pitches he threw. By the way he’s talking so far, and how he looked in abbreviated spring training, Happ’s confidence is back.

With the current injuries to the Yankees pitching staff, Happ now has to deliver in a more demanding role as the number three starter instead of in the back-end of the rotation. The Yankees need Happ to prove that he can still be the big-time pitcher he was when they traded for him.

2020 Projection: Becomes a reliable number three starter.