Yankees vs Royals: 5 things to watch and series predictions | April 17-19

Here are five things to watch and predictions as the Yankees open a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals in the Bronx on Friday…

5 things to watch

Will Ben Rice stay in the lineup?

A lot has been made of manager Aaron Boone‘s lineups this week. Despite saying Rice is his first baseman, he’s sat down the talented slugger a few times this week in favor of Paul Goldschmidt.

While Boone likes having Rice as a left-handed option off the bench, with the team scuffling and Rice being the most consistent hitter this season, it would behoove the skipper to keep Rice at first base this weekend.

Will it happen? That remains to be seen.

The Royals are deploying two southpaws in Noah Cameron and Cole Ragans, but Rice launched a homer off a lefty reliever against the Angels on Thursday, so he is capable of handling it.

Aaron Judge continues to mash

Judge is locked in.

The captain mashed four home runs in the four-game series against the Angels this week and is now tied for the major league lead in that category.

Unfortunately for the Yanks, the home runs haven’t necessarily translated to victories as the Bombers had to settle for a split with the Angels. The Yankees have lost seven of their last nine games, but when Judge goes this team goes. And going up against those aforementioned lefties could benefit Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and the other right-handers in the lineup.

Bullpen woes

The Yankees’ bullpen was the weakest part of the team coming out of spring training, but they excelled early on and helped the team get out to a 8-2 start. Things have changed since.

New York Yankees pitcher Angel Chivilli (57) throws a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fifth inning during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field / Nathan Ray Seebeck – Imagn Images

The relievers allowed 14 runs in 17 innings during the four-game series with the Angels, including two implosions.

New York has played musical chairs with certain relievers as they try and navigate playing 13 straight days — their next off day is Monday.

The high-leverage guys — aside from Camilo Doval — have been fine, but if the starters don’t go deep the Yankees could be facing problems similar to what they experienced this week.

Length needed from starters

Speaking of the starters, the Yankees will have Cam Schlittler, Will Warren, and Ryan Weathers take the mound this weekend.

All three were not great in their last starts. Schlittler had his — relative — worst outing of the season, allowing three runs over five innings while the Angels pounced on Warren for six runs across 3.2 innings. Weathers was the most unique, as he struck out 10 batters but allowed five runs in five innings, all from the long ball.

While it is a long season and hiccups are natural, the Yankees need their young hurlers to give them length to take the pressure off the bullpen and the lineup.

Bobby in the Bronx

Yankee Stadium sometimes brings the best out of some players, like we saw with Mike Trout this week. The future Hall-of-Famer launched five home runs in the four-game series, making a statement to the rest of MLB that he is healthy and back.

Now, the Yanks will welcome Bobby Witt Jr., the Royals’ superstar who finished second to Judge in the 2024 MVP voting. While Witt hasn’t had the start he usually does — he’s slashing .254/.346/.299 with an OPS of .645 across 18 games — it’s only a matter of time until the talented infielder gets it going.

Witt has played 11 games in the Bronx. In that span, he’s hitting .255 with two doubles and one home run.