New York Yankees Top Pitching Prospects Beginning to Look Like Busts
August 7, 2012 · Michael Moraitis · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Looking at the year the New York Yankees top pitching prospects are having, it’s just another reminder that developing starting pitching is never guaranteed.
Especially for the Bombers.
According to Andrew Marchand of ESPN, both Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances have had a disastrous 2012 campaign.
Banuelos has recently been shut down for the remainder of the season after only throwing in six games all year. The injury keeping him on the bench is being described as a bone bruise in his left elbow, per Marchand’s report.
Betances isn’t doing much better. No, he isn’t injured, but Betances has had a bad year on the mound and so much so that he’s been demoted to Double-A. That’s a far cry from the same pitcher who has actually seen a major league mound, unlike Banuelos.
Both pitchers were once thought to be quite valuable to the organization and could have been used in any major trade the Yanks might have been able to find. Starting pitching is at a premium in the MLB and right behind that is young, up-and-coming pitchers.
As a result of their lack of success in 2012, Betances and Banuelos simply won’t be worth the same. That means New York is stuck with their pitching prospects and their overall worth to this organization will come from their performance on the mound and certainly not from any return in a potential trade.
The Yankees have looked to move to a new generation in their rotation. It was supposed to be a new generation filled with young arms that wouldn’t cost them much while producing plenty.
But that plan has failed miserably thus far.
On top of the trouble Betances and Banuelos have had in their development, Michael Pineda’s season ended before it even started. It was once thought that all three of these pitchers could contribute in 2013, but it looks like the Bombers will be happy just to see Pineda in the majors next season.
Clearly this move to younger pitching isn’t looking so hot right now, but looking on the bright side, it is still early in the process. However, with a long history of failure with developing young pitching, it’s beginning to look like the same old song and dance for the Bombers’ pitching prospects.
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