By

JON VANKIN is a journalist and writer. He is the author of five nonfiction books and nine graphic novels. His writing has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Salon, the L.A. Weekly and dozens of other publications and he has received numerous awards and honors including three New England Press Association awards.

In connection with his work, Vankin has made numerous media appearances on such networks as CNN, CNBC, FOX, the BBC and the CBC as well as hundreds of radio stations and podcasts.

Vankin in his wide-ranging career has also served as an editor of comic books and newspapers. He is the editor of the NEW YORK TIMES #1 BESTSELLING graphic novel GET JIRO! by the late, great Anthony Bourdain. He co-wrote the hit Off Broadway musical FOREVER DUSTY, and served as a sportswriter and editor at The Daily Yomiuri, the English-language edition of Japan’s largest newspaper, the Yomiuri Shimbun, in Tokyo.

Jon Vankin

Contributing Sports Writer

With the season about to enter its final week, the New York Yankees finally appear assured of a playoff spot. Fangraphs put their odds on Friday at 99.9 percent.

That means manager Aaron Boone is already thinking about how to arrange his pitching staff for a postseason run that he hopes will take the Bronx Bombers to the World Series for the second straight year.

There is one pitcher who, despite grinding his way to 31 starts this season, is in serious danger of not making the postseason roster at all: rookie Will Warren.

In the postseason — especially in the best-of-three wild card round where the Yankees will almost certainly open their playoff campaign — teams generally require only three starting pitchers rather than the five-man rotation standard in the regular season.

Ace Max Fried, along with No. 2 starter Carlos Rodon, have the top two spots sewn up. Warren would appear to be the logical candidate for the third, but he has worn down toward the end of the season. A 10-hit, six-run, five-inning outing against the Boston Red Sox in his most recent start may have sealed his fate.

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The emergence of last year’s Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, and another rookie this season, Cam Schlitter, appear to bring the competition for the third postseason spot down to those two.

Why not move Warren to the bullpen?

The Yankees ‘pen needs help. In fact, relief pitching has clearly been the Yankees’ weakest point. Relievers have allowed 303 runs, more than any MLB team now in a playoff position.

Their 31 bullpen losses are second only to the New York Mets (34) among teams that enter Friday’s action in wild card or division-leading places.

The bullpen needs help and could easily be the Yankees downfall in a short playoff series. But as one stat highlighted by Yanks Go Yard analyst Colin Keane makes clear, Warren is not the answer.

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“Sadly for Warren (and the Yankees), just because Warren doesn’t fit in the playoff rotation doesn’t mean he’ll be a good fit in the bullpen,” Keane wrote. “In fact, an alarming trend for Warren — his tendency to be terrible in the first inning of starts against good teams — reads like the worst possible resumé for a prospective reliever.”

What do the numbers show about Warren in his first inning of work, against all teams (not just good ones)? The 26-year-old has allowed 22 first-inning runs this season. That is (tied with four other pitchers) the fifth-most in MLB. His first-inning ERA of 6.29 is also fifth-worst.

“Boone and Co. will have a ton of explaining to do if they throw Warren into the middle of a postseason situation and don’t get a desirable result,” Keane concluded.

Boone may choose to go with Warren anyway, knowing that the Yankees bullpen as it currently stands will likely block the path to a repeat World Series run. But if only one of Gil or Schlitter can make the postseason rotation, the other would serve as a safer addition to the relief corp than Warren.

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