Hey guys, thought I'd jump in...don't mind me, I'm a state college student just a few hours north of y'all .
I was going to make a post like this because I was curious about the same thing myself. Here's a few guys I think will be a factor next season...
Delmon Young
Alex Gordon
Homer Bailey
Yovanni Gallardo
Mike Pelfrey (I think Philip Hughes is still a year away, but 2008 watch out)
Scott Elbert
Adam Miller
Tim Lincecum
Ian Stewart (I'm curious about the decision in Colorado, if they decide to move Atkins and keep Stewart of visa versa, Atkins has made great strides in improving all aspects of his game, really impressive so far)
FalcoAtL wrote:I've heard Homer Bailey might get a chance as well. Is there any truth to this? Just wondering
Yes he's still young and he'd probably be best served starting next season in AAA. But personally I think he will definitely find some major league time as early as next season after an impressive 2006 campaign, which is one of the reasons he's a top impact player of mine for 07.
shortsavage wrote:I'll be pretty surprised if Phil Hughes isn't in the big leagues at some point next season. What makes you think he is still a year away?
He might make a major league appearance but I don't really see him being an impact player next season. He's only 19 and I think there have got to be some concerns in the back of people's minds about his durability. He's battled elbow tendinitis early in his young career and I'd hate to see him pushed too hard. I see him starting in AA, eventually moving up to AAA and potentially getting a few starts if Yankees' starters are getting worn out or hurt. He's only 19 going on 20 so it's pretty amazing as it is that he's already a AAA ready pitcher. He'll find a full time spot in the rotation by sometime in 2008 IMO.
I'll be shocked if Hughes starts at AA. What's the point?
Throwing a baseball isn't natural for the arm no matter how you look at it. When you have a guy who is ready to get big league hitters out and could be the most apt player at doing that in your organization, you utilize him.
Hughes is 20, not 19. He will be 21 come spring training. He threw 146.0 innings last season, so without a ton of background on how his arm felt at the end of this seaon, I'd say he's probably ready to handle close to 175.0.
I don't want to come across rude to one of my neighbors up north, but your opinion on how Hughes should be used doesn't align with any opinion that I've heard before quicksilver...and it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
You're definitely right about a few things as my information was out of date. Hughes turned 20, and he spent a considerable amount of time in AA last season and was successful enough to warrant AAA start at the beginning of next season. He won't be 21 until late June, though. But, really, why the rush to the bigs? He's only a little over a year removed from an injury that ended his 2005 campaign. If the Yankees are smart they should follow suit with the way the Mariners have handled Felix. Give him a taste of the majors this season but don't thrust him in there. It's not that I don't think he's capable, it's just that I think they should take a slightly more cautious approach to things. Plus - the Yankees are one of the leading candidates to nab Zito and Matsuzaka so if deals like this go through I find it even less likely there's a spot for Hughes this next season.
EDIT: Also you aren't coming across as rude at all. You disagree with my opinion and that's an okay thing . But, understand, I also disagree with the people who call for Hughes to be in the majors starting 30 games next season so maybe we just have differing philosophies on how to handle young pitchers with an injury history.
Hughes realistically could have helped the Yankees this year, even if they just had him coming out of the pen. For a club as impatient as they are (meaning win now), them keeping him in the minors all season tells me he will have to force their hand to earn a rotation spot out of spring training. Remember, he has exactly 0 IP above AA. I think he spends at least (and probably at most) a couple months at AAA to begin 2007.
I'm sure that millions of dollars has been put into researching what kinds of work loads young arms can handle. And some organizations seem to have come up with better fomulas than others.
Just like anyone can try to simplify a pitcher's stamina down to pitch count, anyone can say, "Well, they probably should have eased pitcher x into the big leagues a little slower."
Without a ton of reasoning, I think defaulting to bringing a pitcher along slowly is a pretty common fallacy in baseball logic.
Last edited by shortsavage on Sat Nov 04, 2006 9:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Why not allow him time to better his changeup? He's starting to learn not to rely on his slider to be his big out pitch, but instead steadily trying to improve the change to effectively go along with the fastball. I'm just really not convinced that Hughes would be successful if put into the rotation at the start of the season.
Also, the other thing, have you heard of Brien Taylor?
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by quiksilver » Fri Nov 03, 2006 6:41 pm 
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. But, understand, I also disagree with the people who call for Hughes to be in the majors starting 30 games next season so maybe we just have differing philosophies on how to handle young pitchers with an injury history.
