Phil Hughes looking confused ahead of 2012 Spring Training – MLB New York Yankees News
New York Yankees are looking in great shape ahead of 2012 Spring Training but their first full squad workout has not started as yet. it is unclear which pitchers Joe Girardi decides to use as starters in the upcoming season. Surely Phil Hughes can find it very difficult to secure a place on Yankees’ starting rotation.
Last season, the 25 year old Hughes made the most of available opportunities to make a name for himself. However, with the likes of Ivan Nova, Michael Pineda, Hiroki Kuroda, Freddy Garcia and C.C. Sabathia, the reliever can find it extremely challenging to avoid bullpen in 2012.
Nova displayed some high quality pitching skills in 16 games in his rookie season. Michael Pineda is one of the most promising pitching prospects in Major League Baseball right now. His fastball has been recorded at 97 mph and considering his performances in his rookie year, he will be an automatic pick for the starting rotation.
Hiroki Kuroda, who in on $10 million contract, has made 358 starts in 386 games in his baseball career so he is likely to play the starter role next season. Similarly, Garcia, who has made 329 MLB appearances, has worked as a reliever only twice in his career.
"We are trying to figure out what we got," Girardi said of Hughes. "We have expectations of what we are going to get. We need to see the fastball, the location of it and the sharpness of his curveball, the command of his cutter and continued improvement on his change-up. He needs to locate and get back to putting people away.”
"There are a lot of different things we can do with him," he further added. "He has had success in the bullpen, but we will do what is best for him and us."
Although Hughes has a great amount of experience in relief, for some reason, Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi and General Manager Brian Cashman see him as a starter. It will be interesting to see if Hughes can live up to the expectations during Spring season. The Yankees can either play him as a starter/reliever or send him to Triple A League.
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