Comments on: Baseball America’s Top 20 Rookies

By: Benjamin Kabak

Benjamin Kabak — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:30:31 +0000

The 1.5 K/BB ratio and the 5.09 ERA over his last 7 starts isn’t helping.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:28:30 +0000

Wait, how did Porcello rank so low?

By: Accent Shallow

Accent Shallow — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:55:09 +0000

I was under the impression that Wood is a shortstop in the sense that he can stand between second and third, not that he’s much of a glove man.

Additionally, with his K-rate, he may never succeed in the majors. If he’s the best player the Jays get for Halladay, they made a bad deal.

By: The Fallen Phoenix

The Fallen Phoenix — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:49:59 +0000

No, because Hughes was showing definite improvement as a starter, as TSJC demonstrated with his post above. In fact, this improvement has, in all likelihood, improved by his move to the bullpen, as he continues to excel at getting big league hitters out.

That’s what pitchers do, regardless of when they come into a game. And since Hughes has demonstrated – at the professional level, minors and majors – stamina, the ability to throw more than two quality pitches, and the ability to adjust to hitters he faces multiple times in a game, the Yankees would be better off having Hughes in the rotation, where can pitch more innings and get out more batters.

And the more good innings the Yankees get out of their rotation, the fewer innings the Yankees need out of their bullpen, so this argument that the bullpen would collapse without Hughes is also fallacious. There are relievers who can approximate the performance Hughes has given out of the bullpen – they won’t have an ERA less than 1, but you don’t need relievers with an ERA less than 1 to have a successful bullpen.

By: The Artist

The Artist — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:25:08 +0000

So facts are now a ‘red herring’ huh?

It gets old.

By: Little Bill

Little Bill — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:24:27 +0000

I never said Cashman said that. I said they’re untouchables.

It’s amazing how people seize upon what they want to see and skip over the inconvenient stuff.

By: tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside

tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:20:57 +0000

If Adenhart was alive and Santana/Escobar were healthy, probably not.

Minus those three, yeah, I think they will.

By: The Honorable Congressman Mondesi

The Honorable Congressman Mondesi — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:19:33 +0000

Jury duty, apparently.

By: tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside

tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:19:21 +0000

That’s a red herring.

The issue is not “Will Phil Hughes be a better starter than a reliever?” The question is “Will Phil Hughes be a better starter than Sergio Mitre, Josh Johnson, Josh Towers, Kei Igawa, or the currently injured Chien Ming Wang?”

As far as evidence that Hughes would be the best SP option:

Hughes, first 3 starts:
8.49 ERA, .340/.443/.560 against

Hughes, last 4 starts:
3.91 ERA, .238/.309/.476 against

By: The Artist

The Artist — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:15:22 +0000

They are the best fit talent-wise. Now you just wonder if they want to pay the talent price for a starter, and if they can afford to add 7 mil this year and 15 next.