The Yankees began their Grapefruit League action Saturday with a huge win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Yankee fans were very nice to Cole Hamels, who started for the Phillies. Typical New York fan, fake adulation towards a guy they want to impress.

Hey guys, the Yankees are not getting Cole Hamels. He will re-sign with Philadelphia or sign with a West Coast team, where Hamels was born and raised.

Anyway, three of the Yankees pitchers Saturday were David Phelps, Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances. If you have read any of my prior articles, I am high on Phelps and Banuelos, but not so much on Betances.* Nothing personal, but I just don’t see him contributing for the Yankees, either as a starting pitcher or a reliever. He just does not throw enough strikes, and when he does, they are usually over the middle of the plate.

So, it was amazing to see the amount of press Phelps received from the New York media regarding his two innings, no run, and no walk stint. Jack Curry talks about him on this YES Network interview.  Yankee manager Joe Girardi speaks well about him, and even Hal Steinbrenner says the organization likes Phelps and he is part of the Yankee future, at least to help keep the payroll down.

All this over a two-inning stint? Talk about a small sample size!

*For an example of what a terrible interview is, check out the Phelps interview on that same link performed by YES correspondent Chris Shearn. He asked Phelps about “all the success you had last year, “ and “how frustrating was it for you with that success…and not be called up.” Shearn had no idea that Phelps was hurt in 2011 or went to the Arizona Fall League.  An interviewer needs to be better prepared.

But this type of performance (good control, getting hitters out) is what Phelps has been doing since the Yankees drafted him in 2008. It is amazing that some players get categorized when most of the people doing the categorization never have seen the player play. All I can say to the main stream media (and the Yankee bloggers) is “Welcome to the party, pal!”

Phelps was drafted in the 14th round that year, 13 rounds after the Yankees drafted (and struck out) with Gerrit Cole, last season’s top overall pick.

Let’s just say that the Yankees did sign Cole, and he quickly progressed through the Yankees farm system up to Triple A with a 38-15 W/L, 2.61 ERA, 1.184 WHIP and 7.4 K/9, 2.0 BB/9 (3.66 K/BB) over his 3+ seasons.

Pretty good, right? Despite what critics would say is a low strikeout rate (wow, only 7.4?), Cole would be considered the top Yankee pitching prospect.

Yet those are the numbers which Phelps has put up since being drafted. So why hasn’t Phelps been considered a top Yankee pitching prospect? It comes down to two things: where he was drafted and lack of a perceived out pitch.

When I saw Phelps in Staten Island during his first year of pro ball, he looked like the polished pitcher the Yankees were expecting. Good control and command, worked both sides of the plate, with a solid fastball, a good but not great curve ball, and well located change up. The fact that he located well at this level allowed him to get away with the okay curve ball.

But when I saw Phelps again in Trenton during 2010, he was a different pitcher. Velocity was up to the 92-93 range, and his curve ball was much improved, much more biting.

One of the great things about seeing these minor league games live with a press pass, is that when I notice something different, I ask the player about it. I asked Phelps about his improved curve ball, and he told me that he began “tinkering” with a spiked curve ball before the 2010 season, and liked how it worked in spring training. Since the spike is notoriously tougher to throw, I asked if this pitch was tougher for him to control and he said, “No, I can throw it where I want.”

A review of Phelps’ tremendous Double-A half-season shows a small increase in his career walk rate (2.3 BB/9), but also the highest strikeout rate of his career (8.6 K/9). He can command the new pitch and was getting more whiffs as a result. He also kept up with his usual low HR rate (an absurd 0.2 per 9 IP in Trenton).

In addition to more strikeouts, I have never seen a pitcher have more hitter’s off-balance than I did when Phelps frustrated hitters that half season. Good hitter after good hitter out on their front foot hitting weak grounders and lazy fly balls, those types which never go for home runs and are easy outs. When a hitter goes 0-4 against a command pitcher like Phelps, it is known as a “comfortable o-fer.”

However, Phelps’ 2011 season was marred by shoulder weakness, forcing him to miss two months of his first full season in Triple-A. If not for this injury, there is no doubt Phelps would have made his major league debut*.

*This is similar to the elbow injury which George Kontos suffered in 2009. Kontos was next in line starting pitcher to be called up to the majors, a better bet than either Chad Gaudin or Sergio Mitre that season.

Phelps responded by coming back and, without any more shoulder issues, finished his season out in the 2011 Arizona Fall League. Want to see him strike out Bryce Harper? Here it is. 

During Phelps’ appearance this past Saturday, he got Hunter Pence, who clubbed two home runs off Yankees pitchers this past weekend, to two strikes before blowing a high fastball by the Phillies hitter. Despite not having the mid-to-high 90s fastball, Phelps has the intelligence and command to throw a high fastball in certain situations, and come away with solid results against good major league hitters.

While not a first round pick, Phelps has continued to do what pitchers need to do: get hitters out. He does this by throwing strikes, mixing his pitches, coming inside to both right handed and left handed hitters (as Harper can attest), and keeping hitters off balance. Phelps can also strike out hitters, just not at the rate stat guys want or think a good pitcher needs to do.

Guys like A.J. Burnett, Brandon Morrow and Oliver Perez (remember him?) strike out tons of guys, yet never win, never keep their teams in games, and generally are bad pitchers but with great stuff! Really good pitchers like Jered Weaver and Roy Halladay have struck out more than 8.0 batters per 9 only once in their careers. Mike Mussina, the pitcher I believe Phelps best resembles (repertoire, command, intelligence), only averaged 7.1 K/9 over his career.

Phelps is a mid-round gem of a find by the Yankees, and might have been one of the reasons why the Yankees were willing to trade Hector Noesi over the winter. Guys who do not strike out hitters at super high rates can and do win and dominate at times, but they don’t allow home runs and don’t walk anybody, either.

Neither does Phelps.

Joseph Delgrippo is an aspiring sportswriter and TV baseball analyst. He played NCAA baseball, at tiny Marietta (OH) College, participating in the Division 3 World Series. In addition, he's coached baseball at the high school level. His knowledge of this game goes far beyond what is shown on television.

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Tags: David Phelps, New York Yankees