Filling in the Question Marks: The Rotation (Part I)

Good morning, Yankee fans! I am currently running on a mere two hours of sleep, thanks in part to a night of...well of being a fraternity brother, to be honest. My body is artificially running on coffee for the time being, so I think I am going to use some of my (temporary) excess energy for baseball.

So far, the 2009 starting rotation looks like this: Wang, Joba, ?, ?, ?. No contending team in its right mind would start the season with three question marks in the rotation. Its obvious that moves need to be made to shore up our starting pitching. The talent that we do have penciled into the rotation (Wang and Joba) is promising, and 2008 gives us hope of the strongest bullpen in recent memory for the 2009 Yanks. The right addition(s) to our rotation could give us one of the strongest pitching staffs in baseball. I'm going to start with internal options, but expect a post on external options in the next few days. Quick note: I am leaving Mussina/Pettite discussion for the next post. Yes, I know they are sort of internal options anyway, but they are free agents, so I will group them as such.

Internal Options:

1. Phil Hughes: No doubt, Phil Phranchise had a disappointing 2008 campaign. Still, it is far too early to give up on him. He's only 22, and he has bounced back from his rib injury/need for glasses nicely. In the AAA playoffs, Hughes pitched 11 impressive innings, surrendering only 3 earned runs and piling up 15 strikeouts, while walking 5. This further adds to his growing reputation as a big game pitcher if we remember our only victory from the 2007 ALDS. In his short two game major league stint at the end of the season, Hughes went a total of 12 innings, and only gave up 3 runs and 2 walks and struck out out 10.

From what I have seen, he has some control issues with his fastball, but that can obviously be corrected with work. His curveball has some nasty bite on it, and he has shown the ability to throw it for strikes. His new pitch, the cutter, has also been successful so far for Hughes, as I have seen him break more then a few bats when he throws that cutter inside on lefties. My take on Hughes? He is almost ready, but he needs some more time/innings to continue to refine his cutter and his change-up. My hope is that Hughes can get into a grove and work out the kinks in the Arizona Fall League. Ultimately, what Hughes does in the fall league and how he does in spring training will determine what roster Hughes is on by the start of 2009. If he cruises and shows improvement, you can bet he will get a shot on the opening day rotation. If not, he will start at Scranton/WB until he is ready. Only time will tell.

2. Ian Kennedy: Kennedy is a little more interesting than Hughes. Kennedy did not have an injury to explain his poor 2008, leading some to believe he was a bust. Simply stated, those people are overreacting. He was drafted from USC in 2006 as a #1 pick. He's ranked top 50 minor league prospect by Baseball America in 2008. He pitched 1 game in 2006. Went a combined 12-3 with a 1.91 era in 26 starts in 2007 and blew through A, AA and AAA in his 1st year. Made it to the majors and pitched 3 games with a 1-0 and a 1.89 era. He struggled in 2008 starting with the Yanks and went 0-3 in 8 starts. Was sent down to the minors and went 6-3 in 13 starts with a 2.22 era.

Combined his minor league numbers are 18-6 with a 1.99 era in 226 innings in 2 years of professional baseball. He went 1-3 in 11 major league starts and 56 inning pitched with a crazy era of 5.56. Can we really say this guys is a bust based upon only 11 starts in the majors considering that he's been out of college for only 2 years? Compare him to the following starts by some of baseball's greats:

Greg Maddux (Drafted in '84)
-Spends 3 years in the minors.
-In '87 goes 6-14 with a 5.61 era in his rookie year.

Tom Glavine (Drafted in '84)
-Spends 4 years in the minors.
-In '88 goes 7-17 with a 4.56 era

John Smoltz (Drafted in '85)
-Spends 3 years in the minors
-In '88 goes 2-7 with a 5.48 era.

My point is give the kid a chance. He may have struggled in the majors, but he still maintained a 5-3 record with a 2.35 ERA in the minors this season, striking out 72 hitters in 74 innings, and walking only 18. He's in the same boat as Hughes, except Kennedy is not playing in the fall league. If he comes out swinging (haha or pitching) in spring training, expect him to get a shot. Otherwise, he will sit in AAA and polish himself off in preparation for his next call up.

3. Chase Wright: Before you all flashback to the terrible game in Boston last year where Wright gave up back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers, consider this: between AA and AAA this season, Wright was a combined 10-3 with a 2.80 ERA. If he keeps up that kind of pitching, and considering he's a lefty, you have to assume he's got a legitimate shot with a great spring training.

4. Alfredo Aceves: Aceves was very impressive in his ML stint. In 30 innings, he went 1-0 with a 2.40 ERA (only gave up 8 earned runs). He breezed through the minors, and it appears as though his stuff translates into the majors. I'd say he has a good shot at being our #5 pitcher in 2009.

5. Darrell Rasner: Do I really need to make this argument? He was 5-10 with a 5.40 ERA, and he gave up 135 hits in 113.1 innings. Combined with his walks, and that's good for a 1.54 WHIP (walks + hits per innings pitched). Not good numbers. There seems to be plenty of decent competition for a rotation spot, especially if we get any outside help, so I highly doubt Rasner is on the opening day roster as anything other than a long man in the pen/mop-up guy.

6. Dan Giese: In the minors this year, Giese pitched 59 innings to the tune of a 1.98 ERA. In 43.1 major league innings, Giese had an impressive 3.53 ERA. I'd say he's the favorite of winning the long man/emergency starter roll on the opening day roster, but I suppose a rotation spot is always a possibility.

7. Phil Coke: You already know my stance on Coke. I know he was a starter in the minors, but he's a lefty and he was lights out from the pen in his major league stint. I think we have the rotational depth to leave him in the pen.

That's about all I can think of for now...let me know if you guys think I missed someone who actually has a legitimate shot. Anyway, my overall take on our internal options is a pretty good one. Depending on free agent signings, I think at least one or two of these guys will step up and contribute in 2009. The favorites are probably Hughes, Kennedy, and Aceves, but as Cashman as stated, nobody outside of Wang and Joba are guaranteed a spot in the rotation.