Yankees first-half awards: Aaron Judge for MVP, but who's LVP?

New York Times

4 hours ago

NEW YORK — Will Warren didn't seem worried at all. The bases were loaded. The count was full. Gio Urshela was at the plate, and it was the first inning.
Warren reached back and ripped a 94 mph sinker that dotted the outside corner. Urshela didn't swing, the umpire called strike three, and it set the New York Yankees' starting pitcher on a path to yet another big night.
Advertisement
Warren threw five scoreless innings, striking out seven while walking four, in a 3-0 win over the Athletics at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.
The game represented the halfway mark of the regular season for the Yankees, who at 47-34 hold a 1 1/2-game lead in the American League East.
And Warren's showing was another example of why he's been the Yankees' rookie of the year for the first half of the 2025 season.
Warren has a 5-4 record and a 4.37 ERA, giving the Yankees at least the chance to win just about every day, though he usually offers even more. Over his last four starts, he has a 1.96 ERA. He's allowed three or fewer runs in 13 starts. Warren leads MLB rookies in starts (17) and strikeouts (103).
Will Warren, Disgusting Sweeper. 🤮 pic.twitter.com/22f49RAylV
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 28, 2025
Manager Aaron Boone said he wasn't losing faith in the 26-year-old as he walked three of the first five batters he faced Friday, though he did tell the bullpen to have Allan Winans warm up in case Warren couldn't right the ship.
'Honestly a lot of confidence that we don't have to trick 'em,' Boone said. 'He's got the stuff to go right after them.'
The biggest difference for Warren this season?
'I feel like he's really starting to use his sinker and his four-seamer really well with a lot of faith in it and in the strike zone,' Boone said. 'He knows he can go in the strike zone with both of those pitches if he executes. He doesn't have to run from contact. Those two pitches really play for him.'
Warren has shown that he deserves to remain in the rotation when Luis Gil returns from the injured list sometime after the All-Star break.
Here are our other first-half awards for the Yankees.
Who else? Judge is in the midst of one of his best seasons, and that's saying something. The 33-year-old is leading MLB in the following categories: batting average (.358), on-base percentage (.458), slugging percentage (.712), OPS (1.170) and fWAR (6.1). Judge's 28 homers are the third-most in baseball. And he hasn't missed a full game. When he was announced as the biggest vote-getter for this year's American League All-Star team, he became the fourth player since fan balloting returned in 1970 to lead the majors in voting at least three times (Ken Griffey Jr., 5; Rod Carew, 4; Ichiro Suzuki, 3). The best player in the game, of course, is the most valuable player on the team.
Advertisement
LeMahieu brings leadership to the Yankees' clubhouse. He sets an example of how to prepare every day. He has also been the Yankees' least productive everyday player. He didn't debut until May 13 after missing the beginning of the season with a left calf strain. When he first returned, he appeared to be moving better than he had at any point over his last two injury-plagued years. But he's struggled significantly of late. Over 13 games entering Friday, he had posted just a .384 OPS with only one extra-base hit. His season marks of a 92.5 mph average exit velocity and 50 percent hard-hit rate are encouraging. His expected weighted on-base percentage of .304 is not.
Fried might start for the AL All-Star team. When the Yankees signed Fried to an eight-year, $217 million deal, the move was almost universally applauded, though some eyebrows were raised at the length. Nobody's questioning it now. The lefty leads MLB in wins with 10, and his 1.92 ERA is second among starting pitchers. He's top 10 in WHIP (0.94) and batting average against (.204). Fried has also become a clubhouse leader in a mold similar to Gerrit Cole.
'Ten wins in half a season is not easy to do, in any era, especially now,' Boone told reporters in Cincinnati this week. 'It's just a testament to how good he's been and how efficient he's been. Needless to say, he's been enormous for us, whether it's coming off a loss or extending a streak. His consistency's been great.'
Carrasco's stay was brief but impactful, in the wrong way. The 38-year-old was 2-2 with a 5.91 ERA in eight games (six starts), and it seemed like he just didn't have it anymore in the 16th season of an otherwise impressive career. He made his last Yankees appearance on May 4. Then the team designated him for assignment. He's since hung around Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he hasn't been good there either, with a 4.95 ERA in six games. Carrasco was a positive force inside the Yankees' clubhouse during spring training and at the beginning of the season, but he didn't get it done on the field.