Michael Pineda is out for the season with a torn labrum. This you know. But did you know that the loss of their presumptive number 2 starter and the guy they traded their top prospect for isn’t even their biggest problem? New York’s starting rotation is abysmal.
CC Sabathia has been fine but his WHIP is over 1.2, entirely too high for an ace and unfortunately, he leads the team in this category. Ivan Nova has been very good but is it only me who gets the impression the Yankees are playing with fire with him? Nova was never a top prospect and there is a reason for that. He has an average fastball that he compliments with decent breaking stuff that he locates really well. This season, he is striking out batters at an unsustainable 9.47/9 innings and walking less than man per game. The number that really jumps out at you when you look at Nova’s advanced stats is that he has stranded 89.3% of runners on base. No chance he can keep that up. His career average in the majors is right around 72%. Eventually those guys will come around to score. Don’t get e wrong though, I like Nova a lot. I think he’s very good and I’m a big fan. All of his numbers wold be totally fine if the rest of the Bombers’ rotation was ok; problem is, its not.
Phil Hughes sucks. Bottom line. He’s just not a good pitcher anymore. That 18 win season was a fluke. There’s no other way to explain it. Hughes is 1-3. In 4 starts, he’s averaging 4 innings a game. His ERA is 7.88. He is stranding only slightly more than half of all runners that reach against him. He is walking almost 3.5 guys per game and even though his Batting Average on Balls in Play suggests he’s been a bit unlucky on the mound, he’s still giving up almost 3 homers a game. Can you tell I’m mad about this? In my opinion, the Yankees should move Hughes back into the bullpen immediately but keep him on a very very short leash. If he continues to struggle, send him down or ship him out. I’ve reached the end of my rope with Hughes.
Next up on the chopping block is Hiroki Kuroda. I was pumped when the Yanks signed Kuroda and I still thinks he’s very good. He’s old and he’s moving to a new, more difficult league and a new, more difficult division so I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this one. He’s got to stop walking guys and get his act together soon though or the Yankees risk getting into a Red Sox situation, falling behind a few games to the Rays, one of baseball’s best teams, early and having to spend the whole summer making the ground back up.
Finally, we get to Freddie Garcia. I’m declaring it: He’s officially done. Last year was nice but 2012 is obviously one too many for ol’ Freddie. Garcia has a ERA of 9.75. He’s pitched only 12 innings in 3 starts. He’s stranding only 47% of runners who reach base against him. It seems like guys have figured him out. He’s got nothing. His BABIP is over .400 which could say one of two things: first, he’s been one of the unluckiest pitchers ever and everything will eventually straighten out or second, batters are hitting the ball so well against him that batted balls are turing into hits at an extraordinary rate. You take your pick of which explaination you’d like.
Now, at this point I would say that Yanks should call up one of their great pitching prospects, Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos. Only problem is that Betances’ ERA in AAA is 8.83 in 4 starts and Banuelos’ is a whopping 10.13 in 2 starts. When does Andy Pettite come back? Can he pitch every day?
-Max Frankel
