Earlier today, Yankees manager Joe Girardi named his opening day rotation, shortly after the news about Michael Pineda's shoulder tendonitis was broken. Here is my evaluation of five pitchers slated to open the season.
CC Sabathia: Putting Sabathia first was a given. Sabathia, who is coming off another 19-win season in which he posted a 3.00 ERA and was ranked second in strikeouts and fourth in innings pitched.
Hiroki Kuroda: Though the 13-16 record didn't show it, Kuroda had a great year for the Dodgers in 2011, as he posted an ERA of 3.07 and only walked 49 batters in 202 innings pitched. In addition to having a number of different pitches in his arsenal, he also throws pretty hard. According to Fangraphs.com, Kuroda's fastball and sinker averaged 92 MPH in 2011, which isn't bad for a 37-year old-pitcher who has been in professional baseball since 1997.
Phil Hughes: Last spring, Hughes came to camp overweight and unprepared to follow up his solid 2010 season. This year is an entirely different story, as Hughes is slimmer and has regained the velocity he lost last season. He has only given up 3 earned runs this spring as of today.
Ivan Nova: Nova, who is going into his sophomore season, hasn't looked very good this spring after a solid rookie year in which he went 16-4 and posted a 3.70 ERA without losing a single game in the second half. We will soon find out whether the infamous sophomore slump has hit him.
Freddy Garcia: One of the biggest surprises in baseball last year was Garcia who posted his lowest ERA in 10 years at 3.62. He began to fade as the season progressed and posted a 4.45 second half ERA. It looks as if he will be the first pitcher sent to the bullpen once Pineda returns.
Though I do like this rotation, I prefer one with Pettitte and a healthy Pineda. The only question is who will be bumped when Pineda and Pettitte return.
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