Yankees' Ask Me Anything: Judge & Soto, the rotation and more

The Yankees ended the season with the best record in the American League, giving them the privilege of resting this week while waiting to find out who they would play in the AL Division Series.

The field is now set, and the Yankees will host the Royals for Game 1 on Saturday at 6:38 p.m. ET. New York beat reporter Bryan Hoch recently fielded questions from fans during a Reddit AMA, and here’s a sampling of the conversation, previewing the series:

In terms of all the playoff teams the Yankees have had in the Aaron Judge era, where does this one rank in terms of your confidence level that they can get it done this year?
Higher after the AL Wild Card results, I've got to say. I don't think this is the most complete roster of the Judge era (2017 still beats it in my book), but there are no 100-win juggernauts out there. As someone once said, it's right in front of them.

• Postseason FAQ: What's next for the Yankees?

Aside from Juan Soto, who do you think was the biggest X-factor in the Yankees success this season?
Soto was a huge part of it, so let's not downplay him, but I would say better health. You didn't have Judge running into a wall at Dodger Stadium, to start with. They survived missing Gerrit Cole until the middle of June because Luis Gil basically provided his numbers, and when Clarke Schmidt went down, Cole was just about ready. You got five months out of Giancarlo Stanton, and we saw how different the win-loss record was without him.

My question is twofold: Who do you think starts in left field Saturday? And how confident should we be that this is the postseason where Judge finally plays like himself?
1) Alex Verdugo
2) Fairly confident. One thing about the home run chase for 62, as fun as it was, is that Judge seemed emotionally drained by the end of it. There was so much fuss around it (and hey, I wrote a book about Judge and that season, so I'm partly to blame!) that he didn't have a ton left in the tank for the playoffs. This year, since the day Judge arrived early in Tampa, the focus has been on being ready for this stretch right now.

How would you rank the current bullpen in terms of trust for high-leverage spots late in games? Where does Clay Holmes fit into this given his struggles this year?
It's funny, but considering they had an All-Star closer lose his job with 13 blown saves, I actually don't feel like the bullpen is a huge concern going into this postseason. Part of that is because Luke Weaver somehow channeled Mariano Rivera in terms of results, and I don't know how long that's going to last, but they'll ride it as far as they can. They will be looking for right-on-right "lanes" to pitch Holmes, and I do expect them to use him. They will need those outs at times.

What are the chances Oswaldo Cabrera gets a start at 1B?
My sense is that Boone is leaning more toward keeping Cabrera in that jack-of-all-trades role where he can plug in different spots. Not saying Cabrera won't play some first, but when that lineup comes out Saturday, I expect Ben Rice to be at 1B.

Do you think the Yankees aren’t announcing a Game 3 starter to keep the Royals in the dark, or have a lane in Game 2 for Schmidt or Gil they are potentially envisioning that Boone would use them in?
Schmidt will be available in relief in Games 1 and 2, just in case Cole or Carlos Rodón have a blow-up start and get knocked out early. If things go bad, you can bring Schmidt in to keep the game close and give the bats a chance to come back. In an ideal world, you wouldn't need him and maybe you can piggyback Gil and Schmidt in Game 3.

Do you think anything about this playoff run could affect the Yankees chances of retaining Soto, positively or negatively?
I think Soto really enjoys New York, loves the fans, loves playing with Judge. Those all work in their favor. Winning the World Series sure would help, I think, but Soto has played this so perfectly. In the end, I think he's going to the highest bidder -- whomever that may be.

Is there any chance the Yankees can use Gil out of the bullpen this postseason?
I doubt it, just because they haven't done it at any point this season. It seems like something they have tried to stay away from. Now, could you get in a crazy circumstance where you need to go to him? Maybe, but in terms of preparing him for a traditional relief lane, I don't see that in the playoffs.

Who do you think will be this year’s random postseason hero?
We were doing a story on secret weapons and I landed on Tim Hill. He's been so good against lefties, especially for a guy who got released by the White Sox. Hey, in 2009 Damaso Marte had a good case for World Series MVP before Hideki Matsui had six RBIs in the clincher. Why not?

Am I crazy for being absolutely terrified of the Royals? Mainly because of their pitching, I know their offense has been quiet. But Michael Wacha, Cole Ragans and Seth Lugo is extremely formidable.
Terrified is strong, but they've got some momentum and they're a quality team. What gives me pause is, will the Yankees hit enough against the pitchers you mentioned? It's hard for me to see this team going far if they don't have Soto and Judge contributing. One (or both) need to have a big offensive series, IMO.

Who gets the nod for game 3? And who plays left field?
My guess is Gil in Game 3, with a quick hook if it looks like he's going to walk the ballpark. I'm thinking Verdugo gets the start in Game 1 because of his more reliable defense behind Cole, but Jasson Domínguez probably starts a few games along the way.