It has been 25 years since the last all-New York Subway World Series. Is it too early to commemorate this silver anniversary by predicting another one this fall?
Granted, for that to happen a whole lot will likely depend on whether the Dodgers get their wounded pitchers back and the Tigers’ inexperienced kids are able to keep out-performing the backs of their baseball cards in the gauntlet that is the postseason. For now, however, the 2025 Yankees are a much improved version from the ’24 Yankees that did make it to the World Series with the additions of Max Fried, Paul Goldschmidt, Cody Bellinger, and even Devin Williams, while the ’25 Mets went into the weekend with the best overall record in baseball.
For that, both GMs, Brian Cashman and David Stearns, did a commendable job over the winter of putting together championship-caliber teams, seemingly without major weak spots, with sufficient depth to cover injuries — which could also include some previously unheralded but now fast-rising prospects in their player development systems. In particular, the starting pitching on both New York teams has been their biggest strength — which was definitely not the forecast back in the spring when the Yankees, even after signing Fried, now the frontrunner AL Cy Young candidate, were trying to figure out how make good without Gerrit Cole and Luis Gil, and the Mets were piecing together a rotation behind Kodai Senga from among David Peterson and Tylor Megill, plus converted closer Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas, Paul Blackburn and Griffin Canning — the latter five all signed over the winter by Stearns to low-risk, short-term contracts.
The Mets pitchers presently lead the majors in team ERA (2.82 as of Friday) and ordinarily when Senga, the leading NL Cy Young candidate, went down as he did Thursday with a strained hamstring, it might be cause for panic. For one thing, Senga isn’t expected to miss more than 1-2 starts. For another, Peterson has come into his own as a legitimate top of the rotation lefty ace and Blackburn pitched admirably (five shutout innings) in a spot start against the Dodgers last week. Both Montas and Manaea are expected to come off the injured list by the end of June, but if there turns out to be a need for a potential bigtime fix later on this season, keep an eye on 21-year-old Jonah Tong, the Canadian-born righty who hadn’t commanded a whole lot of attention until this season at Double-A Binghamton where he’s emerged as the Mets’ No. 1 pitching prospect with a 1.99 ERA over his first 11 starts and 91 strikeouts over 54 1/3 innings.
“He’s a special kid, who just loves to compete,” said a Mets player development source. “He’s got this high over-the-top delivery that makes the ball hard to pick up and he’s a got a plus four-pitch mix. He’s on the fast track to Citi Field, if not later this year then definitely next year.”
Of course where the Mets really have depth is in the infield where Mark Vientos’ loss at third base is almost a blessing in that it opened up more playing time for Ronny Mauricio and Brett Baty. And with Jeff McNeil now back and hitting like his old self, there is the problem of what to do with Luisangel Acuna. In any case, most scouts agree that sooner or later the Mets are going to have to keep Mauricio in the lineup every day. “That kid looks to be a special player,” a scout said to me last week. “He has great tools and plays the game with a certain verve and confidence. For me, I’d just plug him in at third base and let Baty platoon at DH with (Starling) Marte. You’d have to agree, though, if there comes a need for another outfield bat or reliever at the deadline, the Mets have plenty of good infield depth from which to trade.”
Similarly, the Yankees have barely missed a beat in the face of injuries. The emergence of Clarke Schmidt as a reliable No. 3 starter behind Fried and Carlos Rodon, and Wil Warren pitching mostly creditably at the bottom of the rotation has helped offset the loss of Cole and Gil, and Cashman has scrambled for a No. 5, signing Carlos Carrasco and Ryan Yarbrough off the scrap heap. It was initially thought last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, Gil, would not be back from his high grade lat strain until the second half, but his rehab timetable was recently moved up. But unlike other years, there is actually quality starting pitching coming through the Yankee farm system, in particular Cam Schlittler, the 6-6, 24-year-old right-hander who was recently promoted from Double-A Somerset to Scranton and struck out 15 batters in 10 1/3 innings in his first two starts in Triple-A. A seventh-round draft pick out of Northeastern in 2022, Schlittler could be a second half option if Gil has another setback in his rehab.
If there has been one trouble spot for the Yankees this season it’s been the infield after the loss of third baseman Oswaldo Cabrera. At least oft-injured DJ LeMahieu has shown signs of a bat revival at second, but third base is seemingly an everyday crapshoot because of Jazz Chisholm’s chronic injury absences. Although it is likely a year too soon for both of them, two of the Yankees’ top prospects, shortstop George Lombard Jr. and second baseman Roc Riggio, happen to be infielders. While everyone agrees Lombard, the Yankees’ first round pick in the 2023 draft, has the makings of a future star and could be in the Bronx as soon as next year, the 23-year-old second baseman Riggio is an especially intriguing prospect in that he was on nobody’s radar last year when he hit .221 at High-A Hudson Valley, but is enjoying a breakout season this year. After earning a promotion from Hudson Valley to Double-A Somerset, he hit five homers in his first eight games and had a 1.232 OPS as of Friday. “I liken him to a Dustin Pedroia-type,” said one scout. “Scrappy. Not a speed guy but legit power. Depending on LeMahieu and where they decide to play Lombard, I could see him in the mix at second base next year. It does look like he’s coming fast now.”
It is only mid-June and a whole lot can happen over the course of these next four months but both the Yankees and Mets, each loaded with stars along with steady, excellent starting pitching, have the makings to go deep into October — as well as the depth to sustain injuries other than to their superstars. Even better for them, they have even more good players coming, as soon as next year and maybe even before.
IT’S A MADD, MADD WORLD
After a year of misery in which they lost a record 121 games, there is renewed baseball joy on the south side of Chicago as the White Sox are almost daily infusing their roster with talented and exciting young players they either developed themselves or acquired in fire sale trades last year. From the Dodgers there is third baseman Miguel Vargas, acquired for pitcher Michael Kopech, who is leading the team in homers and RBI. From the Red Sox for Garrett Crochet, there is switch-hitting catcher Kyle Teel, just called up, and Chase Meidroth, batting a solid .287 and very likely to be the All-Star second baseman. From the Angels for Lucas Giolito at the 2023 trade deadline there is catcher Edgar Quero, batting a solid .274 while winning praise for his handling of the White Sox pitchers. The White Sox No. 1 starter Shane Smith they stole from the Brewers in the Rule 5 Draft last December, and he, too, is likely going to be an All-Star. From their own system, DH-first baseman Tim Elko had four homers and eight RBI in his first 18 games. Then this last week they recalled two of their top prospects from Triple-A, right-hander Grant Taylor, a second-round pick in the 2023 draft who had a 1.35 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings as a starter and a reliever at Triple-A Charlotte. Though projected as a future top of the rotation starter, the Sox plan to use him in relief, even as a closer, the rest of this season. And lastly Friday they recalled Brooks Baldwin, another fan favorite who can play multiple positions and was hitting .380 with seven homers and 19 runs in 19 games at Charlotte.
