As expected, Phil Hughes(notes) has officially won the battle to be the Yankees’ fifth starter. The 23-year-old has posted a spring ERA of 4.15 with 10 Ks in 13.0 innings.
It would also be accurate to say that the fifth starter battle was lost by Joba Chamberlain(notes), who’s been absolutely miserable. Chamberlain has allowed 10 hits, 12 runs and seven walks in just 6.2 innings. He’s not only vanished from the Yankees’ rotation plans, but from public league fantasy draft boards. It’s tough to endorse Chamberlain at this point, unless you’re involved in a custom league that counts Holds. (There, the SP eligibility makes him particularly useful). He was of course outstanding in a setup role back in ’07 and ’08.
But enough about Joba. Let’s get back to discussing Hughes, a guy who was similarly brilliant in the eighth inning for New York in ’09. Despite his difficult surroundings – pitching in a hitter’s park, versus an A.L. East schedule – I’ll take the under on that 4.15 ERA. Many projection systems will do the same. Hughes delivered a 10.05 K/9 last season (8.05 as a starter), so if he’s allowed to pitch, say, 180 innings, he could very well finish among the A.L.’s top 10 in strikeouts. According to MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch, Hughes’ innings limit will be "slightly higher" than Chamberlain’s in ’09; Joba pitched 157.1 frames during the regular season and another 6.1 in the playoffs.
At Hughes’ current average draft position (214.4), there’s basically no risk attached. We know he’ll get Ks. We can safely assume he’ll get run support. Don’t sleep on him in drafts or auctions. He’s no Kraken, clearly, but he can still be plenty useful.
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