New York Yankees' 2014 first-half report card

Stats are through the end of play on July 9, when the Yankees defeated the Cleveland Indians by 5-4 in 14 innings.

Position Players:

LF Brett Gardner: B+ The Yankees’ best all-around offensive player in the first half, Gardner leads the club in both average (.287) and average with runners in scoring position (.300). He places second on the team in stolen bases (15) and, surprisingly, fourth in homeruns (8). His defense in left field is impressive. The one knock on Gardner is that, even with the 15 stolen bases, he often appears tentative to attempt to steal.

C Francisco Cervelli: B New York’s backup catcher was limited to 13 contests because of a hamstring injury, but he performed well when he was in the lineup. Cervelli hit a respectable .270, while throwing out four of nine attempted base stealers (.444).

Ellsbury got off to a hot start, and while he has cooled down a bit, he did provide a game-winning HR in Wednesday’s 14-inning showdown. (AP)

CF Jacoby Ellsbury: B Aside from several extreme streaks, Ellsbury had a strong first half both offensively and defensively. He contributed numerous clutch hits, including solo homers that won extra-inning games at the Chicago White Sox on May 24 and at Cleveland on July 9.

C John Ryan Murphy: B Murphy showed some offensive promise while filling in for Cervelli, hitting .286 (18-63) over 24 games.

1B Mark Teixeira: B Teixeira has enjoyed a nice bounce-back campaign from his injury-plagued 2013 season. Though he’s only hitting .241, Teixeira leads the team in both homeruns (17) and RBI (47). His defense, normally stellar, has been inconsistent; he’s made his share of spectacular plays, but his six errors are the most he’s committed since becoming a full-time first baseman in 2005.

RF Ichiro Suzuki: B- Expected to be, at best, a fourth outfielder this season, Suzuki took advantage of Alfonso Soriano’s struggles to become the club’s regular right fielder. Suzuki is hitting a more-than-respectable .298—he doesn’t have enough at bats to qualify for the batting title, thus why Gardner’s average is officially higher—but with minimal power and often ineffectively in the clutch; his average is only .214 with runners in scoring position.

3B Yangervis Solarte: C+ A 26-year old non-roster invitee to spring training, Solarte was arguably New York’s best offensive player for the season’s first two months before things fell apart. Solarte led New York with 26 RBI at the start of play on June 1. His average gradually dipped from an American League-leading. 336 on May 13 to .260 when he was demoted to AAA on July 3.

SS Derek Jeter: C Hardly vintage Jeter but not a terrible first half. He was streaky at the plate, batting .270. He committed some uncharacteristic mental errors, such as not running hard out of the box on an eventual double in the home opener and looking to the wrong base before throwing late to first in a loss at Toronto on June 24.

2B Brian Roberts: C The former Oriole is batting only .246, but he’s had some impressive games. His four-extra base hit performance on July 4 at Minnesota was the first of his career.

SS Brendan Ryan: C Ryan has been mediocre at the plate, hitting .250 in extremely sporadic action. He’s amazing defensively in terms of range, but his hands seem less reliable at times.

DH Carlos Beltran: C- A right-elbow injury forced Beltran to exclusively DH and limited his effectiveness after a strong offensive start. Beltran has hit some big homeruns for the Yankees, most notably a walk-off three-run shot versus Baltimore on June 20.

C Brian McCann: C- The Yankees were probably expecting more than a .230 average and 10 homeruns at this point from McCann, but he’s been hitting better lately. McCann also contributed key hits in comeback wins over the White Sox on May 24 and Baltimore on June 20. Defensively, McCann has thrown out 21 of 48 (.438) attempted base stealers, the best ratio across baseball save for Cardinals’ backstop Yadier Molina (.486).

IF Kelly Johnson: D Johnson is hitting only .215, and his defense at both first base and third base has been consistently subpar. To be fair, Johnson had primarily been a second baseman before this season.

OF Alfonso Soriano: F How quickly things can change. Soriano was perhaps the Yankees’ most valuable player in the second half of 2013 after he was acquired from the Chicago Cubs. Alas, he never found his swing this year and was designated for assignment on July 6 with a .221 batting average.

Pitchers:

Betances’ out-of-the-blue production has come at a time at which the starting rotation has needed bullpen help. (NYDailyNews.com)

RHP Dellin Betances: A Betances was the team’s most pleasant surprise of the first half. Formerly part of the seemingly overhyped “Killer B’s” trio — along with RHP Andrew Brackman and LHP Manny Banuelos — Betances made the Yankees’ bullpen out of spring training and overcame some early control problems to dominate and make the American League All-Star team. His 81 strikeouts, attained in only 53.1 innings, lead all major-league relievers.

RHP David Robertson: A Mariano Rivera’s successor tends to make fans sweat at times, but 22 saves in 24 chances isn’t too shabby.

RHP Masahiro Tanaka: A It’s tough to complain too much when a rookie begins his career with 16 consecutive quality starts, leads the majors in wins (12), ranks third in the American League in ERA (2.51), places seventh in the majors with 135 strikeouts, and is selected to the All-Star game. His last two outings, a win at Minnesota and a loss at Cleveland, however, were his worst of the season, and he is now on the disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow. Tanaka has returned to New York to undergo an MRI, which will reveal the extent of the injury.

RHP Adam Warren: B Warren became a key late-inning reliever for the Yankees, although he tended to implode during games when he didn’t have his best stuff.

LHP David Huff: B- Huff pitched competently in long-relief situations, most notably in the Yankees’ win at Minnesota on July 4, where he fired three scoreless innings in relief of an ineffective Chase Whitley.

RHP Shawn Kelley: C+ Got off to a good start and recorded four consecutive saves when Robertson was sidelined with a groin injury in April, but a back injury coupled with Betances’ rise has limited Kelley’s role. He’s been impressive in pressure spots over the past week, striking out eight over 4.2 shutout innings.

RHP Hiroki Kuroda: C+ Kuroda allowed more than four runs only once in 18 starts, but he tended to labor even in games where he pitched well. Relying on fringe starters such as RHP David Phelps, RHP Chase Whitley, and LHP Vidal Nuno, the Yankees could have used more length from Kuroda (6-6; 4.20 ERA) than they typically received.

RHP David Phelps: C+ Injuries quickly lifted Phelps from a long reliever to the team’s third starter. All things considered, Phelps (3-4; 4.01 ERA) did a solid job.

LHP Vidal Nuno: C Traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 6 for RHP Brandon McCarthy, Nuno gave the Yankees a chance to win most of his starts. He was victimized by homeruns, especially at Yankee Stadium, where he allowed 13 dingers over 50 frames.

LHP Matt Thornton: C The veteran southpaw reliever was inconsistent in his sporadic appearances.

RHP Chase Whitley: C Primarily a reliever in the minor leagues before this season, Whitley (3-2; 5.14 ERA) didn’t allow more than three runs in any of his first eight starts but surrendered at least four runs while lasting no more than four innings in each of his past three starts. He struck out three over two scoreless innings out of the bullpen in the Yankees’ 14-inning win at Cleveland on July 9.

LHP CC Sabathia: D Sabathia struggled to a 5.28 ERA over eight starts before right-knee inflammation forced him to the disabled list on May 11.

RHP Ivan Nova: Incomplete Nova was off to a slow start (2-2; 8.27 ERA) when he was forced to undergo season-ending Tommy John Surgery after four outings.

RHP Michael Pineda: Incomplete Pineda won the final rotation spot with a strong spring training, and he commenced the regular season impressively, pitching to a 1.83 ERA over four starts. A pair of pine tar incidents against the Red Sox hampered his solid performance, however, and he hasn’t pitched since his April 23 ejection at Boston because of a teres major muscle strain.

Nonplaying Personnel:

Manager Joe Girardi: B Especially considering the injuries, Girardi did a solid job of keeping the team in contention. His lineups were sometimes debatable, though, and he didn’t utilize much strategy, such as hitting-and-running, to ignite his slumbering offense.

General Manager Brian Cashman: C-/Incomplete Of Cashman’s offseason signings, Tanaka and Ellsbury had solid to great first halves, while McCann, Beltran, and Johnson struggled. More time is needed, though, to see how good or bad these signings were. The lack of depth in the farm system—the reason why players like Phelps, Whitley, and Nuno had to contribute as much as they did—is an issue.

What do you think of these grades? Fair; unfair? Sound off in a comment!