ALCS heavy hitters could shine when the New York Yankees take on the Cleveland Guardians

By defeating the Kansas City Royals in their American League Division Series, the New York Yankees proved that they are more of an orchestra than a one-man band.

Their victory was an absolute team effort.

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge had just two hits in 18 plate appearances against the troublesome Royals.

Now Judge and his Yankees face the underdog Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series.

The series could come down to the power of the Yankees against the Guardians bullpen.

Game 1 of the best-of-seven ALCS began on October 14 at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees won the game 5-2. Both Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton hit a home run in the game.

Guardians defeat the Tigers:

While the Yankees eliminated the Royals, in the other American League Division Series, the Guardians defeated the Detroit Tigers in five games.

To advance to the ALCS against the Yankees, the Guardians defeated presumptive American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal in the fifth and deciding game of the series.

A grand slam hit in the fifth inning by Guardians center fielder Lane Thomas gave the Guardians the lead. They held on and won 7-3.

“Don’t let these guys beat you.”

In pregame locker room meetings, the manager will generally say something like, “Don't let these guys beat you.” He then lists the people his pitching staff needs to control.

Guardians manager Steven Vogt likely listed Yankees sluggers Juan Soto, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.

In the regular season, these three hit a combined 126 home runs.

Judge hit 58. Soto hit 41. Stanton hit 27.

Cleveland's pitchers need to keep these three batters in check.

The Guardians can't come close to matching the firepower of Judge, Soto and Stanton.

However, the Guardians have Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor in their lineup at third and fourth.

Ramirez, one of the game's best pure hitters, and Naylor can carry the bat when they get hot.

Ramirez, a switch-hitter, finished the season with 39 home runs and 41 stolen bases. He also hit 39 doubles.

Naylor, a hard-running left-hander, hit 31 home runs and 27 doubles.

In short, it wouldn't surprise this scout if these five players had a significant impact on the final outcome of the American League Championship Series:

Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor.

We saw Soto and Stanton shine in Game 1.

The Guardians' bats can sometimes get very cold.

The Yankees can also be very inconsistent.

Good pitching could win the series.

The Guardians have plenty of starters and a wonderful but tired bullpen.

The Yankees have plenty of starters and a rejuvenated, excellent bullpen.

Pitching matchups:

fangraphs.com predicts the following pitching matchups for the ALCS:

October 14 – Game 1 – at New York = Yankees LHP Carlos Rodon started against Guardians RHP Alex Cobb

October 15 – Game 2 – at New York = Yankees RHP Gerrit Cole vs. Guardians RHP Tanner Bibee

October 17 – Game 3 – at Cleveland = Yankees RHP Clarke Schmidt vs. Guardians LHP Matthew Boyd

October 18 – Game 4 – at Cleveland = Yankees RHP Luis Gil vs. Guardians RHP Gavin Williams

If necessary, the series would continue as follows:

October 19 – Game 5 – at Cleveland

October 21st – Game 6 – in New York

October 22nd – Game 7 – in New York

Cast and supporting actors:

Both the Yankees and Guardians have a roster of players who can step up in big games.

Fangraphs.com lists the following starting lineups:

Yankees:

Gleyber Torres-2B

Juan Soto-RF

Aaron Judge-CF

Austin Wells C

Giancarlo Stanton-DH

Jazz Chisholm-3B

Anthony Rizzo-1B

Anthony Volpe-SS

Alex Verdugo-LF

Guardian:

Steven Kwan-LF

Kyle Manzardo-DH vs RHP or David Fry vs LHP

Jose Ramirez-3B

Josh Naylor-1B

Lane Thomas-CF

Andres Gimenez-2B

Will Brennan-RF vs RHP or Jhonkensy Noel vs LHP

Bo Naylor-C

Brayan Rocchio-SS

Bullpen Strengths:

The Guardians' bullpen may be their team's greatest strength.

The Guardians present Emmanuel Clase as closer. His crazy slider/cutter combination is very difficult to navigate.

Hunter Gaddis, Cade Smith and lefty Tim Herrin prepared Clase excellently.

The Guardians bullpen is deep, outstanding and likely overworked.

The Yankees' bullpen is becoming a strength for their club.

Veteran right-hander Luke Weaver has stabilized the closer's role since taking over for Clay Holmes.

This is the first year Weaver has saved games and he has been outstanding.

Holmes seems more comfortable and effective in an established role.

Right-hander Tommy Kahnle will also likely be used in the high-leverage seventh or eighth inning.

Conclusions:

New York is the favorite in the American League Championship Series, but the Guardians are a troublesome, struggling baseball team.

Often a player like Lane Thomas of the Guardians or Jazz Chisholm of the Yankees can be the hero in a seven-game series.

Maybe the short right field porch at Yankee Stadium has a consequence.

This old scout is still looking for heroics like Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Ramirez or Josh Naylor.