Yankees Unveil Gerrit Cole, Starting Rotation for ALDS in 2024 MLB Playoff Bracket

The New York Yankees don't yet know their opponent for the American League Division Series, but they do know who will be taking the mound at the start of it.

Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reported Wednesday that they will give the ball to ace Gerrit Cole for Game 1 against either the Baltimore Orioles or Kansas City Royals. He will be followed by Carlos Rodón in Game 2 and either Luis Gil or Clarke Schmidt in Game 3.

Pitching coach Matt Blake said the team could turn to Schmidt out of the bullpen for either Game 1 or 2.

The best-of-five series will start Saturday in New York.

Kansas City has the inside track to be the Yankees' opponent, as it defeated the Orioles 1-0 in Tuesday's Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series. The Orioles will have to win two straight in the best-of-three clash to advance and set up an AL East showdown with the Bronx Bombers.

The Royals needed just one run to win Game 1, which came via a Bobby Witt Jr. RBI single in the sixth inning. Starting pitcher Cole Ragans pitched six scoreless frames, and the bullpen finished the job in the final three innings.

New York would surely love to get pitching like that from its rotation and will unsurprisingly turn toward Cole for Game 1.

The six-time All-Star didn't make his debut until June 19 this year as he recovered from an elbow injury, but that didn't stop him from posting solid numbers with a 3.41 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 99 strikeouts in 95 innings.

He may not have been as dominant as last year when he won the American League Cy Young, but he is still a big-game pitcher who has consistently proved himself in the postseason.

Cole has a 2.93 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 17 career postseason starts and will look to add to those impressive numbers Saturday.

If he doesn't, it will be up to Rodón and potentially Gil to pick him up and help the team advance.

Rodón was the team's most durable starting pitcher this season and led the Yankees with 175 innings, while Gil was unhittable at times during his breakout campaign that featured 171 strikeouts in 151.2 innings.