Hughes looked amazing
Until the skies exploded
Win 1 evasive
Until the skies exploded
Win 1 evasive
I'm pretty sure that the baseball gods hate Phil Hughes. He was off to an amazing start last night - hitting 94, according to game day, and looking crisper than he has since the first start of the year. Then the rains came and the Yankees wisely didn't send him back out to continue. Had that not happened, I have complete faith that he would have calmed the worries of fans. I guess he'll just have to do it next time instead.
In other news, Bruney is on the DL and may miss the rest of the season. Just when it was starting to look like he'd break out, he's gone. Joining him will be Professor Farnsworth, allowing the Yanks to call up Britton and Albaladejo. Hopefully they'll actually use Britton in this stint. He's got the stuff to be a key cog in a big league bullpen. I like Albaladejo as well...he could end up being another key player this year. Waiting in the wings is Scott Patterson, whom I'd like to see at some point this season. He really impressed me this spring, and he's not going to learn much in AAA. At this point, he is what he is.
Besides Edwar and Veras, who most people already know about, there are a few other potential big time relievers waiting in the farm system, should the Yankees decide they need help or that LaTroy Hawkins is toasted garbage. Former second rounder JB Cox, who took over for Huston Street as Texas's closer, is currently rehabbing from TJ surgery at class A Tampa (*just found out he was called up to AAA today*). Joining him in TJ rehab in Tampa is Mark Melancon, whom the Yankees grabbed in the 8th round in 2006. He was widely regarded as the best closer in that draft, and fell into the Yankees' hands solely because of injury concerns. Cox reached AA in 2006, so he could be a fast mover when he completely recovers. He throws a heavy moving fastball in the upper 80's to low 90's and features and excellent slider that BA rated as the best in the system before his injury. Malancon could also move quickly once he completely recovers, as he features a fast ball in the 91 - 94 range and an explosive power curve. My guess is that we won't see either of these guys this year, but they could be important pieces of the pen in the future.
The guy I really wanted to write about is David Robertson, who the Yankees grabbed in the 17th round in 2006. Don't let the draft round fool you, he was pretty highly regarded after posting k/9 ratios of 12.77 and 10.90 in his two years of college. He fell largely due to signability concerns; as a sophomore, he had all kinds of leverage, and teams didn't want to waste a pick on a player they didn't think would sign. I remember at the time most thought the Yankees had no chance of bringing him aboard and that he was a backup in case Melancon didn't sign.
Since joining the Yankee system, Robertson has flat out dominated, earning himself a callup to AAA today. In 84 innings across 3 levels last season, he pitched 84.1 innings and allowed 45 hits, 12 runs, 9 (!) earned, 0 homers, 32 walks, and 113 (!) strikeouts. Batters hit just .154 against him, and he had a nearly 2 outs on the ground for every one in the air. His ratios of 4.82 H/9, 3.42 BB/9, and 12.09 K/9 are nearly other worldly, especially considering he was just 22 years old. He's continued to dominate this year, throwing 14 innings and giving up 7 hits, 1 earned run, 6 walks, and 21 strikeouts. He doesn't throw particularly hard, sitting 89 - 93, but he's supposedly got good sink on the fastball,an excellent curve, and a good change. His lack of velocity and 5'11", 180 lb frame limit his upside and give some reason to doubt him, but it seems that he's pretty close to a finished product, and he's experienced nothing but success at every level at which he has pitched. He may never be a dominant closer, but in a best-case scenerio he could end up like Rafael Betancourt, a reliever who has similar fastball velocity and similar breaking stuff, along with a career 2.80 ERA and 9.14 K/9 in the majors. We could very well see Robertson this season.
In other news, Bruney is on the DL and may miss the rest of the season. Just when it was starting to look like he'd break out, he's gone. Joining him will be Professor Farnsworth, allowing the Yanks to call up Britton and Albaladejo. Hopefully they'll actually use Britton in this stint. He's got the stuff to be a key cog in a big league bullpen. I like Albaladejo as well...he could end up being another key player this year. Waiting in the wings is Scott Patterson, whom I'd like to see at some point this season. He really impressed me this spring, and he's not going to learn much in AAA. At this point, he is what he is.
Besides Edwar and Veras, who most people already know about, there are a few other potential big time relievers waiting in the farm system, should the Yankees decide they need help or that LaTroy Hawkins is toasted garbage. Former second rounder JB Cox, who took over for Huston Street as Texas's closer, is currently rehabbing from TJ surgery at class A Tampa (*just found out he was called up to AAA today*). Joining him in TJ rehab in Tampa is Mark Melancon, whom the Yankees grabbed in the 8th round in 2006. He was widely regarded as the best closer in that draft, and fell into the Yankees' hands solely because of injury concerns. Cox reached AA in 2006, so he could be a fast mover when he completely recovers. He throws a heavy moving fastball in the upper 80's to low 90's and features and excellent slider that BA rated as the best in the system before his injury. Malancon could also move quickly once he completely recovers, as he features a fast ball in the 91 - 94 range and an explosive power curve. My guess is that we won't see either of these guys this year, but they could be important pieces of the pen in the future.
The guy I really wanted to write about is David Robertson, who the Yankees grabbed in the 17th round in 2006. Don't let the draft round fool you, he was pretty highly regarded after posting k/9 ratios of 12.77 and 10.90 in his two years of college. He fell largely due to signability concerns; as a sophomore, he had all kinds of leverage, and teams didn't want to waste a pick on a player they didn't think would sign. I remember at the time most thought the Yankees had no chance of bringing him aboard and that he was a backup in case Melancon didn't sign.
Since joining the Yankee system, Robertson has flat out dominated, earning himself a callup to AAA today. In 84 innings across 3 levels last season, he pitched 84.1 innings and allowed 45 hits, 12 runs, 9 (!) earned, 0 homers, 32 walks, and 113 (!) strikeouts. Batters hit just .154 against him, and he had a nearly 2 outs on the ground for every one in the air. His ratios of 4.82 H/9, 3.42 BB/9, and 12.09 K/9 are nearly other worldly, especially considering he was just 22 years old. He's continued to dominate this year, throwing 14 innings and giving up 7 hits, 1 earned run, 6 walks, and 21 strikeouts. He doesn't throw particularly hard, sitting 89 - 93, but he's supposedly got good sink on the fastball,an excellent curve, and a good change. His lack of velocity and 5'11", 180 lb frame limit his upside and give some reason to doubt him, but it seems that he's pretty close to a finished product, and he's experienced nothing but success at every level at which he has pitched. He may never be a dominant closer, but in a best-case scenerio he could end up like Rafael Betancourt, a reliever who has similar fastball velocity and similar breaking stuff, along with a career 2.80 ERA and 9.14 K/9 in the majors. We could very well see Robertson this season.
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