Today was only the beginning of the battle for the fifth spot in the Yankees rotation. Our good friend Ari Kaplan from the Ariball Scouting Service broke down all the candidates with his scouting reports take a read:

Alfredo Aceves:

PITCHES: Throws fastball 90-92mph (47% of all pitches), cutter 87-90 (14%), curveball 77-82 (20%), changeup 80-85 (19%). FB is most effective, cutter least effective. 1,232 total pitches (62% in the strike zone). Threw 199 of 318 first pitches for strikes (63%).

Strengths: Great command of CB. Great command of CH. Great command of cutter. Great overall dominance with 4.31 K/BB. Induces pop-ups often. Rarely walks batters – 0.19 BB/IP (0.39 is avg).

Joba Chamberlain

PITCHES: Throws fastball 91-94mph (64% of all pitches), slider 83-87 (19%), curveball 76-82 (12%), changeup 81-84 (5%). FB is most effective, changeup least effective. 2,619 total pitches (55% in the strike zone). Threw 370 of 662 first pitches for strikes (56%).

STRENGTHS: Plus command of slider.

WEAKNESSES: One of the walk leaders with 76.

HABITS: 3-0 ALWAYS throws FB to lefties 100% (86% is avg). 3-2 throws slider to righties 58% (16% is avg). 3-2 throws slider to lefties 50% (14% is avg). Throws sliders 60% more frequently from the stretch (24% vs 15% of all pitches).

Chad Gaudin

PITCHES: Throws fastball 89-92mph (58% of all pitches), slider 77-82 (30%), changeup 83-87 (9%), curveball 76-82 (2%). Slider is most effective, changeup is least effective. 5,040 total pitches (59% in the strike zone). Threw 108 of 186 first pitches for strikes (58%). Threw 265 of 453 first pitches for strikes (58%).

STRENGTHS: Deceptive curveball causes 29% of swings to miss. Plus command of changeup.

WEAKNESSES: Poor command of CB. Changeup velocity is not deceptively slower than FB – only 4.2 mph.

HABITS: 3-0 ALWAYS throws FB to righties 100% (86% is avg). Locates CB 3″ down from the stretch. Lean body. Likes to make pickoff attempts. Gets little spin on FB (21% below MLB avg.) His slider is one of the slowest at 79.7 and “slurvy”. Gets good spin on slider (67% above MLB avg.)

Phil Hughes

PITCHES: Throws fastball 92-95mph (64% of all pitches), cutter 87-91 (8%), curveball 75-79 (21%), slider 87-89 (6%), changeup 82-86 (1%). Curveball is most effective, fastball is least effective. 1,456 total pitches (60% in the strike zone). Threw 208 of 338 first pitches for strikes (62%).

NOTES: Injury a concern – was on the DL 135 days over the past 3 seasons. Likes to make pickoff attempts.

STRENGTHS: Plus command of slider. Well above avg overall dominance with 3.42 K/BB. Entered 13 games with runners on base and allowed 67% fewer to score than the average reliever in the same situations. Strikes out batters often – 1.11 K/IP (0.77 is avg). Consistently came in to 33 “late and close” games and pitched effectively.

HABITS: 88% of swings make contact off his slider. Throws FB outside to righties. His FB is on the faster side at 93.5. Deceptive FB causes 15% of swings to miss. Gets good spin on CB (33% above MLB avg.). He throws a hard SL that averages 87.8.

Sergio Mitre

PITCHES: Throws fastball 90-92mph (31% of all pitches), sinker 89-92 (38%), changeup 82-85 (17%), curveball 78-80 (9%), slider 77-80 (6%). 793 total pitches (61% in the strike zone). Threw 131 of 210 first pitches for strikes (62%).

NOTES: Injury a concern – was on the DL 90 days over the past 3 seasons.

STRENGTHS: Plus command of slider. Changeup has a big tailing action.

WEAKNESSES: Not a deceptive slider: 94% of swings make contact. Has a high ERA of 6.79. Rarely induces pop-ups.

HABITS: 1-2 throws CH to lefties 50% (14% is avg). 2-0 does not throw FB to righties often – 30% (72% is avg). 2-0 does not throw FB to lefties often – 13% (74% is avg). 2-2 throws CH to lefties 45% (15% is avg). Infrequently throws inside twice in a row 21% of the time (29% is avg). Slider release point comes towards 1B 1.7″ from the stretch. Throws sinkers 22% more frequently from the stretch (42% vs 34% of all pitches). FB has a big tailing and sinking action. Has 11-5 CB break angle (-17 deg). Throws slider high to lefties. His “slurvy” slider is one of the slowest at 78.5.

Is it me or does Aceves seem to be the most polished of this group? His scouting report stood out to me and if I didn’t know any better I would think he, not Joba, was the most highly touted of the group. On the other hand I think it’s clear why Mitre has struggled during his career (ERA of 5.56).

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Alfredo Aceves, Ari Kaplan, Ariball, Chad Gaudin, Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees, Phil Hughes, Sergio Mitre, Yankees Fifth Spot in the Rotation