Robinson Cano, Brett Gardner and Jorge Posada are leading the way offensively for the Yankees against the Tigers in the playoffs. Robinson Cano has played in all 3 games so far in this series and he is 4 for 13 (.308 avg, 1.049 OPS) with 1 run scored, 2 doubles, 1 homer and 6 RBIs. Brett Gardner has been Mr. Clutch for the Yankees against the Tigers in this series. He has played in all 3 games so far and he is 3 for 9 (.333 avg, .844 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 double and 4 RBIs. DH Jorge Posada saved his best for last for the Yankees. He has played in all 3 games in this series and he is 4 for 8 (.500 avg, 1.417 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 triple and 4 walks. The Yankees need some other hitters to step up and give this trio some support.

21-year old righty swinging catcher Jesus Montero came into this season as the Yankees’ #1 prospect. Almost every team the Yankees wanted to make a deal with brought up his name, and they kept saying no. He is off to a rousing start to his major league career. He has played in 7 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 8 for 23 (.348 avg, 1.162 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 3 homers and 6 RBIs. Montero also played in 109 games in AAA-ball this year and he was 121 for 420 (.288 avg, .814 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 18 homers and 67 RBIs. Montero is making an early case to be on the Yankees’ post-season roster, but he will have to finish strong to make it.

30-year old lefty swinging CF Curtis Granderson was kind of a disappointment in his first season with the Yankees in 2010. He played in 136 games last year for the Yankees and he was 115 for 466 (.247 avg, .792 OPS) with 76 runs scored, 24 homers, 67 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. This year though, he has been outstanding from day #1. Granderson has played in 129 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 135 of 486 (.278 avg, .971 OPS) with 121 runs scored, 20 doubles, 10 triples, 38 homers, 107 RBIs and 24 stolen bases. He has been a beast for the Yankees so far this year and I think he will be the MVP of the A.L. as long as he has a decent month in September.

28-year old righty swinging catcher Russell Martin burst onto the scene with a huge April for the Yankees. But he then fell on hard time as he struggled in May, June and July with the bat. But, in August, Martin is heating back up. Martin has played in 14 games so far in August and he is 14 for 52 (.269 avg, .887 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 5 homers and 12 RBIs. He has now played in 96 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 78 for 336 (.232 avg, .723 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 15 homers, 52 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Martin has picked a good time to pick up the pace with the bat as the Yankees are duking it out at the top of the A.L. East with the Red Sox.

30-year old switch-hitting RF Nick Swisher is heating up big time after a slow start to the 2011 season. In June & July, Swisher was 58 for 179 (.324 avg) with 31 runs scored, 11 homers, 42 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Swisher has now played in 113 games for the Yankees so far this year and he is 106 for 394 (.269 avg, .816 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 14 homers, 64 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. With all of the injuries the Yankees have suffered this year, they need Swisher to stay hot at the plate.