All things considered, the have started the 2022 season about as well as they could have hoped. They are 3-1-1 in their five series despite an offense that, prior to Sunday's blowout win ( ), had not scored more than six runs in a game, or scored more than five runs without the benefit of the automatic runner in extra innings. It's been a grind offensively. The pitching, on the other hand, has been magnificent. It's almost become cliche to say the Yankees have pitching i sues - Jose Altuve Jersey - there are very real injury concerns with some members of their staff, no doubt -- but they were second in the American League in park-adjusted ERA last season (15 percent better than average). They've been even better in the early going in 2022. Here is the early season ERA leaderboard: : 2.22 : 2.51Yankees: 2.53 : 2.78 : 2.88The Yankees have not had a starter allow more than three runs in a game yet this season, and their 44 runs allowed through 16 games are their fewest since 1958 (40). Adjust that ERA for ballpark (the Yankees have played 10 of their 16 games at homer-happy Yankee Stadium) and the offensive environment (scoring is down), and New York's staff has been 49 percent than the league average so far this year. Here are three under-the-radar reasons the Yankees have excelled at preventing runs 16 games into the new season. NYY SP #65 ERA1.15WHIP.64IP15.2BB3K25 New York's best starting pitcher has not been . In fact, Cole was pretty bad up until Sunday's outing against Cleveland, when he struck out nine in 6 2/3 scorele s innings. Cole allowed seven runs and 16 baserunners in only 11 1/3 innings in his first three starts, . The Yankees best starter this season has been , a journeyman left-hander who is in his third stint in the Yankees organization and had a 6.72 ERA in 79 big league innings prior to 2021. Last season he made a few changes to his pitch mix, added some velocity, and broke out with a 2.90 ERA in 93 innings spread 14 starts and eight relief appearances. This year, Cortes has been even better. He's struck out 25 and allowed only two runs in 15 2/3 innings and three starts. His velocity Jeff Bagwell Jersey continues to rise and he's also embraced the sweeper, which is the hard slider that is becoming popular acro s ( ). "I thought he was really sharp today," Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters, , following Saturday's game, when Cortes held Cleveland to two runs in 6 1/3 innings. "... Even when he was mi sing, it was just off where he wanted it. I felt like he was really pinpoint (with) his command, efficient, and working fast." Mike Axisa (@mikeaxisa) Now 27, Cortes has added the sweeper (and a little velocity) to his unique brand of lefty funk. He changes his delivery, drops down to sidearm, and does all sorts of things to disrupt the hitter. Bottom line, Cortes is proving last season is no fluke. He is a new pitcher and has been reliably above average since moving into the rotation last July. NYY RP #34 ERA.84WHIP1.03IP10.2BB2K18 Dominant bullpens have been a staple in the Bronx the last few years. From 2017-21, the Yankees bullpen had the third-lowest ERA (3.64), third lowest WHIP (1.24), and the highest strikeout rate (27.6 percent) in baseball. The bullpen has again been excellent this season, even after losing ace setup man to Tommy John surgery Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey last September. Righty has been a revelation since coming over in a trade with the at least year's deadline. has some of the best raw stuff in baseball. And then there's breakout righty , who was so-so in a swingman role the last two seasons before a promising bullpen stint last September. This year, he's Mike Scott Jersey leveled up. In five multi-inning relief appearances, King has allowed one earned run while striking out 18 and walking one unintentionally in 10 2/3 innings. Friday night he struck out eight of the 10 batters he faced, including seven in a row at one point. He is not a one- or even two-trick pony. King got the eight strikeouts with four different pitches (four-seamer, sinker, sweeper, changeup). "I've always talked about, if I have four hopefully plus pitches and only two of them are working, I can get through a lineup," . "When I have all four, it allows me to do some fun stuff, toy around with players and keep them off balance." King's velocity jumped a grade in the bullpen and he now sits around 97 mph with a running two-seamer. He's another Yankee who has embraced the sweeper (in King's case, ). The extra velocity and big breaking sweeper have made a world of difference for a pitcher who lacked a true out-pitch a year ago. Michael King, 95mph Sinker and 84mph Breaking Ball, Overlay. Sinker: 18 inches runBreaking Ball: 16 inches break. Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) Closer and righty have been rocks in New York's bullpen since 2017. Now the case can be made they are the team's fourth and fifth relievers behind Holmes, King, and Loisiga. Boone has a bevy of options, allowing him to spread the workload around and keep everyone fresh. The Yankees never seem to be short on arms. It's not out of the question that King and his four-pitch mix will move back into the rotation at some point. For now, he's settled in as an important part of what has been an excellent Yankees bullpen in the early going. He's a multi-inning weapon with the stuff to mi s bats and get ground balls against the middle Brian McCann Jersey of the opposing team's lineup. "Not right now," Boone told reporters, , when asked about King returning to the rotation at some point. "Just because he's so valuable in this role. He's closed a game. He's got the ability to come in and give us a few innings like he did tonight. We have five starters right now. The book is certainly not closed on that." And improving the defense was priority No. 1 this offseason. Run prevention is not just about the guys on the mound and last year New York's defense gave away too many free outs and forced their pitchers to throw too many extra pitches. It's sort of remarkable the pitching staff was as succe sful as it was while having to overcome the team's defense. So, to clean things up, the Yankees moved to second base full-time, brought in to play shortstop, replaced with Josh Reddick Jersey (again), replaced with , and replaced with several defense-first catchers. Here's where the Yankees rank super early in the season: 20212022Defensive efficiency 15th in MLB 9th in MLB Defensive runs saved 29th 15th Outs above average 25th 15th Pitch framing 17th 6th Defensive efficiency is a quick and dirty measure for defense. It is simply the percentage of balls in play turned into outs, and last year the Yankees were middle of the pack at 69.8 percent. This year they're in the upper third of the league at 72.2 percent. The quality of contact allowed matters, but, generally speaking, the Yankees are conver