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Yankees' young pitching looks suspect

by Ryan Gilmore       August 21st, 2012 2:19 PM
  • Yankees-young-pitching-looks-suspect
  • New York Yankees embattled pitcher Michael Pineda. Credit: US Presswire

    • While the New York Yankees are still sitting atop the AL East approaching September, questions are beginning to arise about the future of baseball’s most storied franchise, particularly in the pitching department.

    General Manager Brian Cashman has made every effort to bolster the Bombers’ pitching, trading young slugger Jesus Montero for promising hurler Michael Pineda, while also refusing to include young arms Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances in any trade talks over the past few seasons. Yet despite every effort, results have only proven to be negative.

    Pineda, after sporting some promising peripherals in Seattle last season, has proven to be nothing more than an immature, unmotivated, bum. This reality was only reaffirmed Monday when the young righty was arrested for drunk driving before ever throwing a regular season pitch in pinstripes. It’s becoming increasingly clear as to why the Seattle Mariners were so willing to part ways with a promising young pitcher in exchange for a designated hitter (albeit a pretty damn good one); Pineda is damaged goods. While he may only be a 23-year-old kid, one has to wonder how committed he is to succeeding when he was out drinking until 3 a.m. in the midst of his rehab. You can’t teach work ethic, and Pineda appears to have none.


    David Phelps has been the Yankees’ most impressive young arm this season. Credit: US Presswire

    The “Killer B’s” have also had their fair share of struggles this season. The lefthander Banuelos, 21, has been out the majority of the year with an elbow injury, effectively stunting his development and causing concern about his durability. Right-hander Betances, on the other hand, while healthy, pitched so poorly in Triple-A Scranton (3-5, 6.39 ERA, K/BB rate barely over 1) that he was recently demoted to Double-A where he has had similar levels of success (6.15 ERA, .316 BAA). He’s also 24 and in his 7th year in the organization, so the clock is certainly ticking.

    Throw in the ever-inconsistent Phil Hughes (12-10, 4.23 ERA, 1.283 WHIP) and presently home run-vulnerable Ivan Nova, and the future of the Yankees rotation is a massive question mark AT BEST.

    In fact, the most consistent young arm for the Yankees thus far has been David Phelps (2.69 ERA, 1.147 WHIP through 63.2 innings), a guy who’s projected ceiling is supposed to be somewhere between workable relief pitcher to spot-starter. Slightly concerning for a team that has three pieces with a mean age of about 35 (37 if you add Andy Pettitte to the mix) in their rotation.

    The sense of urgency is being slightly masked by the robust performances of Hiroki Kuroda and Freddy Garcia (each with ERAs under 3.00 over the past nine starts), but at the ages of 37 and 35, respectively, the two veterans are likely nothing more than single season stopgaps.

    Obviously, the Yankees do have some ability to spend their way out of trouble should it arise. But if Hal Steinbrenner does indeed want to see his payroll lowered to $189 million by 2014 while maintaining a high level of play, the many moves to acquire pitching youth have to work out. At this point, it’s looking suspect.

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