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5 things to watch as Yankees face Astros in three-game series in Houston

Phillip Martinez
·4 min read
26
Oct 26, 2022; Surprise, Arizona, USA; New York Yankees designated hitter Jasson Dominguez plays for the Mesa Solar Sox during an Arizona Fall League baseball game at Surprise Stadium.

Here are five things to watch as the Yankees take on the Astros in Houston for a three-game series…

Seeing the kids play

No bones about it, this weekend -- if you're a Yankees fan -- is about the kids. Jasson Dominguez and Austin Wells will be promoted to the team on Friday and are likely to see a lot of playing time this weekend.

How much time is still unclear but it's an exciting time for the Yankees and their fans as they can see the future of the organization. Dominguez is the team's No. 2 prospect and has a ton of upside. He may have a tough go at it against the Astros this weekend -- he was playing in Double-A less than two weeks ago -- but seeing "The Martian" in major league at-bats will be great to see.

For Wells, it'll be interesting to see how manager Aaron Boone deploys their catcher. Will he be a backstop? That opens up an interesting view of this weekend as he'll be judged at the plate and how he handles the rotation.

We also can't forget Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira continuing to receive playing time. Heading into their second series, how will they adjust?

Can Anthony Volpe stay hot?

Volpe, a kid in his own right, is starting to put it together this season. Entering the Astros series, the 22-year-old is slashing .219/.296/707 with 2- home runs, 57 RBI and 21 stolen bases.

While those numbers are solid for a rookie shortstop, he's on fire over the last week. In his last seven games, Volpe is 7-for-26 (.269) with three home runs, six RBI and a stolen base. His last five hits have been for extra bases. And Boone has routinely put him higher and higher in the batting order.

Can Volpe continue this trajectory against a tough Astros team? With the other kids coming up, all eyes will be on them and the New Jersey-native can continue to build on an already solid rookie campaign.

Jul 14, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Carlos Rodon (55) delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.

Carlos Rodon needs to continue to improve

Despite the injuries and the slow start to his Yankees career, Rodon has been very solid his last two outings.

On Aug. 22 against the Nationals, he went six innings (a season-high) while giving up just one run. On Aug. 27 against the Rays, while he only went 4.2 innings and gave up two runs, he struck out seven batters, which was a season-high.

The lefty will have another tough test facing the Astros on Friday and starting across from Justin Verlander. Am I expecting a win? No, but if Rodon can go six, give up minimal runs and strike out a lot of batters I'd take it. With five more years on his Yankees contract, finishing the season strong will bode well for this team in 2024.

Can Luis Severino prove to be a viable pitcher in 2024?

Severino is going to be a free agent at the end of the season, but there's a chance the Yankees decide to bring him back. At this point, the chances of that happening are slim with how he's pitched but he's really turned it on of late.

The last two starts saw Severino pitch a combined 13.2 innings without giving up a run and striking out 10. His last start against the Tigers was especially impressive when he struck out eight over seven innings. That's the kind of stuff the Yankees were hoping they'd get all season but it just hasn't happened.

Kudos to Severino for continuing to push through the struggles until he found his way again. Hopefully he continues to pitch well if he hopes to receive a good pay day over the offseason with the Yankees or elsewhere.

Giancarlo Stanton 400 home run watch

Don't look now, but Stanton is quietly putting up solid home run numbers this season. In a limited amount of games (83), he has 20 homer and is now just two longballs away from 400.

The last slugger to reach that milestone was Nelson Cruz in 2019 and Stanton will be the next, it's just a matter of time.

Can he reach it this weekend?

He's played 19 games (17 starts) at Minute Maid Park in his career and has only gone yard three times there. Against this weekend's probables, Stanton has two bombs against Verlander, none in two at-bats against Saturday's starter, Hunter Brown, and one against Sunday's starter, Cristian Javier in six at-bats.

The odds are not likely with Stanton this weekend, especially if he's going to sit a game or two out to give Aaron Judge a turn as the DH, but when he hits them it's usually in bunches.