Andy Pettitte: The New York Yankees Should Give Him One More Triple-A Start
May 7, 2012 · Kenny DeJohn · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Andy Pettitte has been climbing through the New York Yankees‘ minor league system quickly over the past month, and it seems as if he is ready to make his season debut sometime in the near future.
If the Yankees were smart though, they would leave him down in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for at least one more start.
Yes, I understand that Pettitte has pitched pretty well considering the fact that he sat out all of the 2011 season.
A little extra preparation wouldn’t hurt though.
The original plan was to replace either Phil Hughes or Freddy Garcia with Pettitte, but those plans have since changed.
Garcia has been replaced by rookie David Phelps, and Hughes is coming off a solid performance against the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.
Phelps has yet to really prove himself as a major league starter—his only start came Thursday night against Kansas City—so it wouldn’t be fair to bump him from the rotation at this point.
Should he struggle in his next start, though, the Yankees would likely consider putting Phelps back in the bullpen where he pitched very well to open the season.
Hughes has shown signs of improvement over his last two starts against the Baltimore Orioles and Royals.
While Hughes did suffer the loss against Baltimore, he pitched 5.2 innings of solid ball. He allowed four runs and struck out six in the contest.
His start against the Royals on Sunday was by far his best of 2012. He lasted 6.2 innings while allowing three runs and striking out seven.
He still wasn’t dominant, but the Yankees would be foolish to yank him from the rotation after his best start for the season.
As for Pettitte, he has struggled a bit in the minors.
Although the sole purpose of going through the minors was to build up his stamina—which he has done, posting back-to-back 90-plus pitch outings—the results must be a little worrisome for the club.
In fours starts, Pettitte has an 0-2 record with a 3.71 ERA. He has allowed many baserunners, as his WHIP sits at 1.294.
Giving Pettitte one more start in Triple-A to make sure that he can go 90 pitches again wouldn’t be such a bad idea for the Yankees, as it would not be a good situation if Pettitte were to come up too early.
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