The New York Yankees have three star players that have made a statement early in the 2024 MLB season. But are they for real? Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter assessed whether Yankees starting pitcher Luis Gil, reliever Dennis Santana, and shortstop Anthony Volpe’s success through their first 39 games is sustainable, and forging their paths to stardom or not.

Anthony Volpe is making good off of an award-winning rookie season in year two

Volpe’s growth at the plate looks exactly like what the next step would be for a standout rookie who worked on his craft in the offseason. The 23-year-old has taken his batting average from .209 in 2023 to a respectable .258 this season. His on-base percentage has also increased by 6.4 percent year-over-year.

His improvement indicates that he can keep up this level of play while still having room to progress with time. Of Volpe’s three home runs, two have come against Houston Astros two-time All-Star Ryan Pressley and standout Miami Marlins pitcher Jesus Luzardo. Thus, he’s shown a propensity to connect off of top talent on the mound.

Volpe already has a Gold Glove award to his name from his rookie campaign with the Yankees. He became the first shortstop to win the award for the franchise since Derek Jeter in 2010, so his continued success in 2024 is no outlier. Chances are, Volpe will continue at the rate he’s going at the plate and not regress.

Yankees’ Luis Gil is channeling his record-breaking play from his rookie season this year

As for Gil, the 25-year-old righty picked right up where he left off from his dominant 2021 rookie outing in Pinstripes after Tommy John surgery cut his sophomore season short and sidelined him for his third year. After setting a franchise record of 19 scoreless innings to begin his MLB career in New York, Gil is once again quieting opposing batters.

The Dominican has started six games, equalling his rookie total. His 3.19 ERA in 2024 almost mirrors his 3.07 ERA from three years ago. The same goes for his 40 strikeouts, which are just two more than the 38 he tossed in 2021. His SO/W (2.00) is an exact match, but so is his BB/9 (5.8) which shows that he can refine his precision in landing in the strike zone. His stuff is some to marvel at though, with his 96.4 mph fastball velocity ranking in the 89th percentile and his .138 expected batting average flying off the charts in the 99th percentile.

Gil looks like a pitcher who is a postseason run or two away from having the experience necessary to eliminate some of the flaws that are indicative of his youth. He has been one of the Yankees’ best pitchers this year, and that’s saying something since all five of their main starters are playing at or near an All-Star level.

Dennis Santana’s 2024 showing has been strong so far but hasn’t been seen at this level before

Santana is having a career year as a member of the Yankees. The seven-year veteran is sporting a career-high 3.68 ERA and is 2-0 with one save on the campaign. His 3.15 FIP is also a career-best. While he’s looked great entering late in games, this is only his third season with a winning record and his first with a sub-4.20 ERA.

Encouragingly, Santana has limited his walks to only six in 14.2 innings pitched. Also, he’s been reliable when inheriting a lead or deficit. His only blunder came against the Tampa Bay Rays on April 21, when he allowed three runs in the eighth inning off of a two-run double and an RBI single. All in all, Santana has been great for the Yankees, but his reliability will need to be sustained for a longer period of time to deduce if he’s entered a new chapter of his career.