Yankees' Breakout Players, Most Disappointing to Start 2022 Season

The New York Yankees have one of the game's biggest superstars in Aaron Judge, and he's in the midst of an MVP-caliber season.

However, the 30-year-old is far from the only reason the Yankees reside in first place in the AL East standings, and breakout performances from Nestor Cortes in the starting rotation and Clay Holmes at the back of the bullpen have been instrumental in the team's success.

It hasn't all been good, though, as a handful of established veterans have struggled, with slugger Joey Gallo atop that list in his first full season in the Bronx.

Ahead, we've taken a closer look at the biggest breakout players, as well as the most disappointing one, on the Yankees roster through the first quarter of the 2022 season.

With Jonathan Loaisiga struggling and both Aroldis Chapman and Chad Green on the injured list, the Yankees have been forced to turn to right-hander Clay Holmes to close out games.

Luckily, he's been brilliant.

The sinkerballer has a 0.40 ERA and 0.66 WHIP with a 23-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 22.2 innings, and he has converted all four of his save chances while also tallying seven holds in 21 appearances.

The 29-year-old was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline last year, and after posting a 1.61 ERA in 25 appearances after joining the Yankees, he has been even better this season while stepping into a crucial role on the relief corps.

With club control through the 2024 season, Holmes figures to be a key bullpen arm for the foreseeable future.

Slugger Joey Gallo had a 137 OPS+ with 25 home runs and 4.2 WAR through 95 games with the Texas Rangers last season when he was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for a package of four prospects.

In 93 games since the trade, the 28-year-old has hit just .166/.300/.379 for a 90 OPS+ with 0.8 WAR.

Gallo has always been a polarizing player due to his low batting average, but he's still proved to be extremely valuable in the past thanks to his on-base ability, power production and Gold Glove defense in the outfield.

That simply hasn't been the case during his time in pinstripes, and with free agency looming this coming offseason, it's not out of the question to think the team could cut its losses and trade him away at the deadline.

Let's do a quick side-by-side player comparison:

• Player A: 9 GS, 3.31 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 62 K, 51.2 IP, 0.8 WAR
• Player B: 8 GS, 1.80 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 56 K, 45.0 IP, 1.7 WAR

Player A is earning $36 million this season, while Player B will take home $727,500.

Player A is Gerrit Cole, the pitcher who was expected to be the ace of the Yankees staff.

Player B is Nestor Cortes, the pitcher who has actually been the ace of the staff thus far, and who is squarely in the AL Cy Young conversation.

This didn't exactly come out of nowhere after Cortes was rock solid last year following a move from the bullpen into the starting rotation, but it's surprising nonetheless to see him dominating MLB hitters with his less-than-overpowering stuff.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and accurate through Tuesday's games.