2017 American League Championship Series Preview: New York Yankees vs Houston Astros

The Houston Astros moved on to the next round with very little problems against the Boston Red Sox, but the New York Yankees came back down 0-2 versus the heavily favorite Cleveland Indians shocking everyone in the baseball world. Here we are though in the American League Championship Series with a very unlikely series that could either be really great or very one sided. Lets compare the two teams.

Starting pitching

The Astros have one of the most talented rotations in baseball with the likes of a seasoned veteran in Justin Verlander, a great young talent in Dallas Keuchel, and an unlikely hero in Brad Peacock. The Yankees though boast both talent and experience with CC Sabathia, Sonny Gray, Luis Severino, and Masahiro Tanaka. While I really like the Astros rotation, I personally like the Yankees one more as I think it will be very tough to beat these guys.

Advantage: Yankees

Bullpen

This here is a little more complicated as they are both very good. The Astros have a shutdown bullpen with the likes of Ken Giles, Luke Gregorson, Will Harris, and a very important Francisco Liriano. The Yankees though have a lot of fire power in Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle, Chad Green and the hardest thrower known to play in Aroldis Chapman. The Astros bullpen might be very good, the Yankees one is so great that you wish to not get to theirs and get as many runs off the starters as possible because they are so shut down.

Advantage: Yankees

Offense

The Yankees when clicking on all cylinders can drive in a lot of runs especially with their rookie of the year stud in Aaron Judge and a very surprising Didi Gregorius. Heck, even their nine hole hitter in Todd Frazier can take anyone deep. The Astros though are a different type of offense. It almost feels like the complete package. It almost feels like every player on the team is very speedy and can drive in lots of runs. Heck, if clutch was a measurement, this team could lead the league. With great players in Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, George Springer, and Alex Bregman, this offense is the real deal.

Advantage: Astros

Defense

The Yankees have a very good defense as Frazier and Gregorius make a very tough left side of the infield to get a hit. And Judge flashed how good of a defender he was by robbing a home run against the Indians’ Francisco Lindor. However, they aren’t the most solid defense by comparison to the Astros who arguably have the best in baseball. Altuve and Correa make a great double play combo, Springer and Josh Reddick are one of the top defenders in their respective positions (center field and right field), and versatile players in Bregman, Yuli Gurriel, and Marwin Gonzalez. If defense wins championships, the Astros have this locked up.

Advantage: Astros

So after looking at this one would think this is an even series. While it could go down to the wire, the team that has the overall advantage is the Astros. They are the more complete team. I really believe the Astros will make this look easy and take the series. The Yankees might put up a fight, but they are still a year or two away from becoming of taking the series.

Prediction: Astros