The New York Yankees appear unstoppable: they’ve won eight straight series after dismantling Kansas City on Sunday, outscoring the Royals 10-1.

There have been a few different story-lines surrounding the Bronx Bombers this year. After surprising the league last year with the development of their young players—including Rookie-of-the-Year and MVP runner-up Aaron Judge—Brian Cashman and Co. brought in 2017 National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton to bolster the line-up.

Along with the acquisition of 3B Brandon Drury from Arizona, the Yankees were poised to make a run for their 28th World Series.

But things didn’t begin as planned: the Yankees went 9-9 through the first 18 games. Stanton struck out five times in a game TWICE. They weren’t healthy; Jace Peterson and Shane Robinson had to start games.

Gary Sanchez, meanwhile, got off to such a poor start that even now, after getting back to to normal, he is only hitting to a split of .225/.323/.549. His OPS is finally over .800.

Since starting off 9-9, however, the Yankees have torn apart their top American League opponents, going 17-2 stretch against the best teams in the AL. They swept the Minnesota Twins, the Angels, won 3 out of 4 against the defending champion Astros, swept the Indians, and then beat the Red Sox 2 out of 3 games.

And now, after winning 4 out of 6 against the Oakland A’s and Kansas City Royals, the Yankees are poised to get even better.

The rest of the league should be getting scared, or getting ready.

The Bombers are about to get a lot of key players back from injury. Manager Aaron Boone indicated last week that Greg Bird’s return from ankle surgery is “around the corner.” The Yankees have already activated Drury from the disabled list, though he was optioned to AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre because 23-year-old Miguel Andujar has filled in so beautifully (for the most part).

Reliever Tommy Kahnle appears to be on the mend. Getting him and Adam Warren back will be huge, considering that the Yankees have been overworking key relievers Arodis Chapman, David Robertson, and Chad Green.

Domingo “Little Sunday” German has filled in well, but the Yankees are still looking to get lefty Jordan Montgomery back from injury in about a month or so.

Those who have filled in for injuries have been impressive this year. The aforementioned Andujar has filled in so well that the third base job is now his to lose. German has had one fantastic start (6.0 innings, 0 hits), and one poor start. David Hale (now in AAA) and AJ Cole have not cost the team any games. In fact, AJ Cole has a 1-0 record since his trade from the Nationals. Not ton mention that Tyler Austin is in the midst of his second hot streak.

When the Yankees get Bird, Kahnle, Robertson, Warren, and Montgomery back, a potential lineup of non-starters could look something like this:

C: Austin Romine

1B: Tyler Austin

2B: Thairo Estrada

3B: Brandon Drury

SS: Ronald Torreyes

OF: Clint Frazier

OF: Tyler Wade

OF: Billy McKinney

DH: Neil Walker

The key for the Yankees is that while they struggled early, they stilled managed to break even—unlike the defending NL-champion Dodgers, who are struggling to get back to .500.

Additionally, nobody on the Yankees has performed above their expectations. Stanton has broken out of his slump—his batting average is back in the .260s—but has not been on an MVP-like tear that we would expect from him.

Didi Gregorius played a little above his head, getting AL Player-of-the-month for April, but has since entered a massive slump, including an 0-30 stretch. Still, I think Didi has proven that he is closer to the player we saw in April than the one we’ve seen in May.

And of course, Aaron Judge has been amazing; his rookie season was not a fluke. Even so, Judge has slid a bit himself, going hitless against Kansas City.

Gary Sanchez, like Stanton, has broken out of his early-season woes, but he hasn’t been on a classic Gary Sanchez tear that we’ve seen before.

Brett Gardner should be back to normal pretty soon; he’s looked like he us coming back around lately. He’s provided his usual elite level of defense and puts together long, professional at-bats.

Neil Walker is out of his early slump as well, and has started several rallies for the Yankees during this stretch of play. He is a professional’s professional. At the very least, Walker is a good, veteran presence for this otherwise young team.

When Greg Bird—a guy with 40-homer potential— returns, and when guys improve their health and go on hot streaks, it is game over for the rest of the American League. If they go out and get another ace, then it is game over for everyone else.

Again, if you’re not a Yankees fan, you should be scared.

Featured Image via: Flickr/Keith Allison