Of course not!
For Phil Hughes, this year should be much more about his personal success. Why? This is the most important year of his career up until this point.
The Yankees did not Joba his arm, he pitched well in 2010, after the whole bullpen rendezvous. (term used for instances when Brian Cashman destroys arms via the flip-flop between the pen and the rotation. Side note: I have no idea where the name came from. Someone told me the first time it ever happened was to this guy named Justin Chamberlain, but who knows where he is these days).
Hughes is going into year 6 of his career. If he pitches well, he will be handed a nice chuck of change as a first year free agent (likely from the Yankees). Hughes has the 'stuff' to be a starter - solid fastball, very good curve and cutter/change as secondaries; however, he is not a front of the line guy because he generally hangs out around 92 MPH on the fastball and that doesn't get it done unless you have pinpoint control. Bottom line, he is not a strikeout pitcher and gives up too many baserunners to be an ace.
Even if Hughes is not ace material, he and Nova could be the Yanks 3/4 starters for the next 5 years (after CC and Pineda). Coming out of spring training, the Yankees will need to decide whether Hughes or Freddy Garcia will become the 5th starter. Hughes should be given every opportunity to get the spot. Garcia's upside is limited by his age, walk rate and inability to strike guys out. He fizzled down the stretch in September and his tenure as a Yankee will likely end before the 2015 season.
The most cogent argument I've heard for making Hughes a middle reliever and giving Garcia the 5th starter's spot is Hughes' prior experience in the pen. This is augmented by Garcia whopping 2 career relief appearances. This issue is that long term, Hughes value is as a starter. Hughes will be a 6th or 7th inning guy if he moves to the pen (Robertson, Soriano and some guy named Mo are ahead of him) and a 25 year old guy who has the potential to be a 3 starter has no business pitching in the 6th inning.
Hughes' fastball speed in late March will be quite telling. Will he be the 93-95+ guy who won 18 games in 2010, or will he be the 89-90 MPH guy who pitched to a 5.79 ERA last year.
The 5th starter spot can often be skipped and the Yankees have 4 strong arms ahead of Hughes/Garcia. The spot can be played with and Hughes should be starting for the Yankees in mid-April. If he can't pitch, send him to the minors, but wasting him away in middle relief is very short-sited.
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Think Hughes has an arm problem that will recur and prevent him from being an effective starter. But still think he deserves a chance to prove this wrong.
ReplyDeletethink Nova is the real deal.
as to Pineda, need to see if he follows the fitness regimine of Miguel Cabrera, but w/o the perennial mvp performance.