Questions for 2011: Rotation Edition

Without hesitation, many would say the biggest question mark of the 2011 Yankees is the starting rotation. I can’t say I’m inclined to disagree, though I do think the problems are a bit overstated, especially when the rotation is compared to other rotations across the American League. Still, each starter is worth examining just a little bit, right?

: I have absolutely zero questions about his performance. Whenever the Big Man is on the mound, I know the Yankees are going to win. The only possible question is: What happens after he opts out? I think the Yankees will and should try to bring him back, but only to a certain point. If he wants more than five years, well, forget that.

: Will the strikeouts come back? Last year, Burnett struck out fewer than seven batters per nine innings for the first time since 2001 and batters made contact against him a career high 81.8% of the time; appropriately, his swinging strike percentage was a career low 7.9%.

: I can has third pitch? Yes, I know the cutter and the four seam fastball are two different pitches, but they’re both fastball types. I think Hughes NEEDS to learn his changeup–or at least mix his pitches a little better–in order to take the next step. If he doesn’t, he may just repeat 2010 in perpetuity. That’s not an awful thing, but Hughes could do much better.

: Can he last a full season as a starter? I don’t doubt at all that he can do this from a durability/innings stand point. I do, however, have at least a little doubt about Nova being able to handle a big league lineup 3+ times in a game. We saw him struggle with that last season: .554 OPSA first time through; .713 second time through; 1.011 third time through. These are small sample sizes, of course, but it’s still something we should pay attention to.

: Can he repeat 2010? If he Garcia can repeat 2010–157 IP, 4.77 FIP–I’ll be as happy as anything. Those innings are exactly what the Yankees need out of their fifth spot and that performance wouldn’t be bad, considering the spot in the rotation. Basically, I’d sign up for that right now without hesitation. But, there is a second question with Garcia: Just how long will he last in the rotation? I’m not sure Garcia can survive a rough April with and/or waiting in the wings.