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The New York Yankees have been known for buying all of their players via free agency instead of bringing up young talent from their farm system. And while the Yankees have been very active in free agency and trades, they have brought up some very good players, with some of their prospects becoming stars while some have not.

International players who spent less than one season in the minor leagues, such as Hideki Matsui, will not be listed.

Lets see who the are Yankees’ 10 most highly touted prospects since 1990.

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The best phrase to describe the pair of young pitchers in the Yankees rotation should be polar opposites. Despite both arriving on the Yankees MLB team, they took completely different roads to reach where they are today.

Most intriguing is how the trend has continued. One of them is making the most of his shot at the majors, and the other is making daily bids for his spot in the rotation.

Phil Hughes was the American, drafted young and coaxed along in the minors. He quickly became one of the top prospects in baseball, and he was the first name brought up with every trade rumor.

Some impressive starts, including a no-hitter through six innings, his second career start and the only playoff win for the Yankees, and he earned himself a spot in the rotation the next season.

This is where the wheels fall off. Despite being handed a rotation spot from the onset of spring training, he didn’t win a game and pitched to an ERA over 6 for the season. The year after that, he was 3-2 with a 5.45 ERA and had to beg the Yankees to keep him on the MLB team as part of the bullpen.

He found a lot of success in the bullpen. He posted an impressive 1.40 ERA and was a catalyst in helping the Yankees take the division in 2009. His successful run continued into last season when he was 10-2 with a 3.58 ERA into July.

The success didn’t last. Despite earning an All-Star Game appearance, he took the loss for the AL. His second half was mediocre at best with an 8-6 record and a 4.79 ERA.

It was even worse this season when he posted an ERA of 13.94 through 3 starts before being placed on the DL with a mysterious injury.

He’s had a couple of good starts since returning, but be honest; is that the story of a pitcher who is getting the most of his ability and career? Phil Hughes is a model of inconsistency.

And then there’s Ivan Nova. He’s the antithesis of Phil Hughes. He had to earn every shot he’s gotten. Hughes was a first-round draft pick; Nova was an amateur free agent. Hughes was the deal breaker in every trade talk; Nova was lost to the rule 5 draft.

Hughes showed a lot of early success and followed it up with horrendous inconsistency; Nova had trouble getting deep into games but has blossomed into a fantastic starter.

He’s younger and less experienced than Hughes, but has already shown more promise at the MLB level. Still, it was Nova who was sent down to AAA to help make room for Phil Hughes to come off the DL. Despite the lost time, Nova still has the Yankees record for wins as a rookie pitcher.

Everything Phil Hughes has in the MLB has been given to him. He hasn’t earned his shot and he hasn’t shown the promise the Yankees saw in him. Whether it’s mechanics or mentality, he’s had a poor season. He’s had just five quality starts and still has an ERA of 6.75.

Unlike Hughes, Nova has had to work for everything. Early on during this past spring training, Nova declared he would win one of the rotation spots and it was up to the rest of the pitchers to earn it back. He backed it up with a great spring, including a no-hit bid against the Orioles.

He credits his turnaround to when he faced big league hitters in the Padres spring training camp. Even when he got sent back down to AA, he thought of himself as a big leaguer and started pitching like it.

Ivan Nova has a winning attitude that Phil Hughes needs to find. It’s not how you start out your career, it’s where you go from there.

While Nova continues to rack up wins for the Yankees, it’s Hughes who will be battling Bartolo Colon and AJ Burnett for a playoff roster spot.

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Every Monday I will be bringing you the Top 3 hot and cold baseball players from around MLB. The twist, I’ll also be providing a buy or sell recommendation on the cold players to help you decide if this is a guy to target in a trade offer or someone you should cut if they’re clogging a bench spot. I’ll also give advice on those playing well, if you should sell high or buy the continued dominance.

For the last week, here are your Hot & Cold recommendations—

HOT

Paul Konerko

Last 7 games: .393 Avg, 5 R, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 0 SB

Call: Sell

Konerko will get you around 30 home runs and 100 RBI, but if an owner in your league is seeing over 40 homers and a .300+ batting average, sell high.

Matt Kemp

Last 7 games: .407 Avg, 4 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 5 SB

Call: Buy

Kemp’s average will cool off, closer to his career .290, but he’s on a mission this year and you can expect the stats to keep piling up for his lucky owner.

Jaime Garcia

Last 2 games: 1-0, 0.60 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 18 K

Call: Sell

Garcia looked good last year, so a strong start is no fluke. However, these numbers aren’t sustainable. But if someone in your league thinks they are, sell!

COLD

Vernon Wells

Last 7 games: .094 Avg, 2 R, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB

Call: Buy

With the move to a less hitter friendly ballpark, you should expect lower numbers than last season, but he won’t hit .100 all year. Buy with the expectation of home runs in the low 20’s and an average in the .270 range.

Derek Jeter

Last 7 games: .179 Avg, 1 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB

Call: Sell

Jeter has become a ground ball specialist as he’s aged. The trends say he’s declining. Sure, he won’t hit below .200 for the season, but if he’s your starting shortstop for the year you may be in trouble. Especially when the Yankees make the inevitable move to drop him down in the lineup.

Phil Hughes

Last 2 games: 0-1, 16.50 ERA, 2.67 WHIP, 1 K

Call: Sell

The drop in velocity has me concerned. You can’t expect opposing teams to hit .400 off him all year, but he doesn’t look like he’s going to be the same pitcher as last year unless something changes drastically.

Brian is a Senior Writer for 4thandHome.com where this, and other work, can be found. Additionally, he is co-host of the 4th and Home Radio show on Blog Talk Radio.

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All spring, the New York Yankees showed no concern over Phil Hughes‘ lack of velocity.

Perhaps the shellacking he received on Friday at the hands of the Boston Red Sox will get their attention.

Hughes was absolutely torched by the Red Sox, giving up seven hits, six runs and two walks in just two innings of work. He only induced one swing-and-miss and, once again, his velocity was suspect.

For the second start in a row, Hughes averaged only 89 mph. If his velocity continues at this pace, it will mark the third year in a row that the velocity on his fastball has taken a dip. In 2009 his fastball was coming in at 93 mph and last year his fastball was averaging 91 mph.

Hughes clearly hasn’t figured out how to compensate for his lack of velocity and you almost have to wonder if it’s in his head.

After the game, Hughes was quoted as saying: “Obviously I know it’s not there and I’m trying to make up for it somehow, and I’m not locating the ball as well as I need to. Just a lot of issues going on right now, but nothing that I can do about it except try to work hard, get back at it and hopefully try to get back on track and figure some things out.”

Whether it’s the weather, a lack of arm strength or the fact that his pitch count last year doubled his 2009 total (1,459 to 3,007), Hughes had better figure things out quick.

In New York, the patience meter doesn’t move slowly.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Coming into the season, the New York Yankees‘ biggest weakness was their starting rotation. With no fourth or fifth starter and an inconsistent AJ Burnett pitching third, the Yankees were expecting big seasons from CC Sabathia and Phil Hughes.

Sabathia has answered the call. Despite not winning a game, he has already pitched a gem against Minnesota and thrown a good start in the opener against Detroit.

However, Phil Hughes has not looked anything like the All-Star pitcher we saw in the first half of last year. 

After getting lit up against Detroit, going four innings and giving up five runs, Hughes was shellacked by a struggling Boston lineup, lasting only two innings and conceding six runs.

After two starts, Hughes is 0-1 with a 16.50 ERA. Hardly what the Yankees were expecting from their young stud and future ace.

The problem with Hughes is exactly the one Javier Vasquez had last year: Namely, his velocity has fallen way off.

For Yankees fans, having the same issues as Javy Vasquez means immediately pressing the panic button.  

While pitching coach Larry Rothschild is confident Hughes’ arm strength will return naturally and manager Joe Giradi has already gone on record stating that he will not be skipped in the rotation, perhaps a trip to the bullpen would benefit Hughes. 

He starred in the bullpen during the Yankees’ World Series run two years ago and would be able to come out for an inning or two every second day and test out his arm strength, instead of waiting every five days.

Pitching out of the bullpen means Hughes can examine whether the loss in velocity is a mechanical issue. And if it is, bullpen innings would be a great way to fix the problem.  

Working in the bullpen would also give him some much-needed confidence. Hughes, who said after the loss to the Red Sox that he felt “helpless,” may be going through the same confidence issues that have plagued AJ Burnett over the years.

As catcher Russell Martin explained, the difference between a 89 MPH pitch and a 93 MPH pitch may not be much for the hitter, but as a pitcher you lose confidence in your pitches and feel like you can’t get away with things. 

With Ivan Nova eager to step up and AJ Burnett off to a good start, the Yankees have a little leeway in moving Hughes around.

As the biggest issue in the rotation and perhaps the team, fixing Hughes is extremely important. While moving Hughes to the bullpen may create short-term problems, like further weakening an already weak rotation, if Hughes can identify what is wrong with his arm the long-term benefits would be tremendous.

As a team with World Series aspirations, the Yankees should be thinking long-term, and getting Hughes back to 100 percent is the top priority.  

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Phil Hughes was born on June 24, 1986 in Mission Viejo, California. A little less than 25 years later, the sorry sack of dog**** went to Boston and gift wrapped the first win of the season for the hated Red Sox, who beat the New York Yankees 9-6.

Everything had been ailing Boston early on this season. They couldn’t pitch. They couldn’t hit. They couldn’t win a single game out of three against the Texas Rangers, and then they couldn’t even manage one win against the awful Cleveland Indians.

The INDIANS!

That’s how bad things were for Boston. But no matter how poorly things are going for you as a team, there is nothing that cures all of baseball’s potential ails like Pathetic Phil Hughes showing up to pitch (for lack of a better term) against your nine.

The Yankees actually gave Pathetic Phil a quick lead, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning on a Robinson Cano double. Red Sox Nation was more than on edge. All of Fenway Park was ready to pounce on their not-as-good-as-advertised team. But there was no need to fear. That’s Pathetic Phil going to the mound for New York.

Hughes allowed a Dustin Pedroia homer in the bottom of the first, drawing the Sox to within a run. But then the Yankees stormed back, grabbing that run right back in the top of the second. Pathetic Phil would have none of that, though. He allowed five runs in the bottom of the second inning and was not allowed to answer the bell for the bottom of the third.

After two starts, Pathetic Phil’s ERA stands at 16.50 and his WHIP at 2.67. The most amazing thing about his year is that he’s only 0-1. Think baseball is fair? Think again.

Check this out.

Pathetic Phil started for the Yankees on Friday afternoon. He lasted only TWO innings while allowing SIX earned runs on SEVEN hits and a pair of walks. He struck out nobody. And for his (complete lack of) effort, Pathetic Phil got a no-decision.

Bartolo Colon followed Pathetic Phil to the mound. He pitched 4.1 innings, allowed only ONE earned run on only TWO hits and one walk while striking out five. It should also be mentioned here that Colon single-handedly saved the Yankees’ bullpen and gave the team a chance to get back in the game. For his effort, Colon gets the loss.

Ridiculous.

Only time will tell if Pathetic Phil is allowed to rape the Yankees any more this season. But we are quickly getting to the point where Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi get the blame if he does. Of course, the Yankees don’t really have any great options.

$200 million doesn’t buy what it used to. Especially when Cashman is the one doing the shopping. But that’s another issue for another day.

Courtesy of Yankees ‘n More

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What We Learned:

It’s less than a week into the season, so almost nothing. But here are the things that stood out from the season’s first series.

–Progressive Field in Cleveland set consecutive low attendance records on Saturday and Sunday.

After an opening day sellout, the Indians sold 9,853 and 8,726 tickets over the weekend. I watched the games and there might have been a third of that many people actually in the stadium. This is after the Indians finished last in baseball in average attendance last year.

–The Rays may be in Trouble.

I was actually pretty surprised how highly many writers chose this team coming into the season. After losing Crawford, Carlos Pena, Matt Garza and virtually an entire bullpen–Joaquin Benoit (60 IP, 1.34 ERA), Rafael Soriano (45 SV, 1.73 ERA), Grant Balfour (55 IP, 2.28 ERA)–and replacing them with a group of has-been hitters and journeyman/never-was pitchers, many still considered Tampa Bay as division contenders or wildcard favorites.

Who knows, it could still turn out that way, but a team with Manny Ramirez as its cleanup hitter in 2011 is going to have trouble scoring runs. A team relying even moderately on Kyle Farnsworth as a closer is going to have trouble protecting leads. And even though everyone was worried about the Yankees starting pitching coming into the season, their five can probably match up decently with Tampa’s and they are going to score a lot more runs.

Oh and Evan Longoria is now on the DL.

–The Players who Stunk:

Manny: 12 AB, 1 H, 1 TB

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When I posted my projection for Phil Hughes prior to the season (click here to view), I noted that I was concerned with him heading into the 2011 season. 

I do believe a lot of people got caught up with the fact that he was an 18-game winner, allowing that to overshadow some fairly evident flaws hanging over him.

If you looked closely, you would have noticed that after May, Hughes failed to post an ERA under 4.00 in any month:

• June – 5.17 (31.1 innings)
• July – 5.52 (29.1 innings)
• August – 4.22 (32.0 innings)
• September – 4.85 (26.0 innings)

You also saw that he was very prone to the long ball, with a HR/9 of 1.59 from June on (and 1.69 at Yankees Stadium).  Pitching at home to open the season, we saw this problem present itself as he allowed a pair of home runs to Miguel Cabrera.

Want to think that he could be a big strikeout pitcher?  Given his K/9 of 10.01 in the minor leagues and striking out nearly a batter per inning over the first two months of ’10, it would be a fair assessment.  Of course, he was also at 6.72 from June on in ’10, so seeing him struggle and strike out just one in his ’11 debut shouldn’t be shocking.

Do I think he’s that bad?  No, of course not. 

Hughes should be a good source of strikeouts moving forward, but the other numbers are concerning.  The biggest problem are the home runs which, if he can’t get them under control, are going to eliminate any opportunity for a good ERA.

There has also been a lot of talk about Hughes’ velocity, which sat at or below 90 mph on Sunday.  Last season he averaged 92.6 mph on his fastball. 

It’s just another wrinkle, and something else to concern us.  To make matters worse, Joel Sherman of The New York Daily News said that Hughes “threw 40 fastballs in all—and never got a swing and miss on a single one.”

In his first start today against the Tigers Hughes posted the following line:

4.0 IP, 5 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 1 K

Obviously, it’s just one start and you don’t want to do anything drastic because of it.  Of course, his next start comes in Boston against arguably the best lineup in the game. 

So what do you do?

It is hard to say that he belongs on your bench in daily formats, but at the same time it is hard to argue against it either.  He did fair well against the Red Sox in ’10, going 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA and 19 K over 25.0 innings. 

To help make the decision a little bit easier, let’s look at how some of the top Red Sox hitters have fared against Hughes in their careers:

• Kevin Youkilis – .308, 1 HR
• David Ortiz – .417, 1 HR
• Carl Crawford – .154, 0 HR
• Dustin Pedroia – .077, 0 HR
• Adrian Gonzalez – Never Faced

It’s a mixed bag really. 

Hughes’ lengthy struggles certainly should be cause for concern and the match-up doesn’t do you any favors.  If I had the option I would probably leave him on my bench due to the tough match-up and the decreased velocity. 

If you do opt to play him, just be prepared to be disappointed and deal with the consequences.

What are your thoughts on Hughes?  Would you start him against Boston?  Why or why not?

Make sure to check out these other helpful articles from earlier today:

• Injury Report – April 4
• Around the Majors – April 3
• Closers Report – American League Edition

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

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Well, the “Phil Hughes Rules” are really paying off for the New York Yankees.

Limiting the number of innings the New York Yankees allow Hughes to pitch has not helped his career. Some believe it has hurt him. They may be right.

Hughes, who is a power pitcher, had a fast ball that was timed anywhere from 92-95 mph. This spring, it has been measured between 87-89 mph.

The New York Yankees’ pitching coach, Larry Rothschild, has stated that Hughes must increase his arm strength. The best way to do that is to pitch, but that is something the Yankees have been hesitant to allow their young pitchers to do.

The most innings Hughes ever worked in the minors was 116 in 2006. He allowed only 73 hits and struck out 138 batters.

Hughes joined the Yankees in 2007 after pitching a meager total of 37 and two-thirds innings for three minor league teams. He started 13 games for the Yankees, pitching 72 and two-thirds innings.

In 2007, at the age of 21, Hughes pitched 110 and one-third innings.

In 2008, appearing in only eight games with the big club, Hughes pitched 34 innings. He worked an additional 35 and two-thirds innings in the minors.

The following season, Hughes pitched six innings for the Yankees and 19 innings in the minors.

Hughes has suffered a number of injuries, including a broken toe in 2004, shoulder tendinitis in 2005, a pulled hamstring in 2007 and a rib stress fracture in 2008, but even when he has been healthy the Yankees have limited his innings.

Finally, in 2010, Hughes pitched close to a full season, but it was a season hampered by the “Phil Hughes Rules.”

The big right-hander started 29 games, winning 18 and losing only 8, but he still worked only 176 and one-third innings because Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi and then-pitching coach Dave Eiland had a plan.

They would give Hughes as much rest as possible, sometimes skipping his turn in the rotation and sometimes giving him one or more extra days of rest.

The “Hughes Rules” were idiotic. Hughes had been in an excellent groove and ranked among the best pitchers in the league. That ended once his routine was upset.

Young pitchers must be allowed to pitch, either in the minors to prepare to face major league hitters, or in the majors if they have the necessary skills.

Twenty three-year-old Andy Pettitte started 26 games, working 175 innings for the Yankees in 1995. The following season he pitched 221 innings. That was followed by 240 innings at the age of 25.

Pettitte never lost velocity off his fast ball, which was necessary to make his cutter his most effective pitch. Buck Showalter and then Joe Torre were careful with Pettitte, but he was allowed to pitch, and his elbow problems did not arise as a result of his working too many innings when he was young.

The Yankees’ current ace, C.C. Sabithia, shows no signs of deterioration. At the ripe old age of 20, yes, 20, good old Carsten Charles pitched 180 and one-third innings. When he was 22 years old, he pitched 210 innings.

Felix Hernandez, who may be the best pitcher in baseball this side of Roy Halladay, pitched 191 innings at the age of 20. 190 and one-third innings at the age of 21, and at the age of 23, his load increased to 238 and two-thirds innings.

In 2010, at the age of 24, Hernandez’ arm strength was enough for 249 and two-thirds innings and a Cy Young Award.

From Hank Steinbrenner to Randy Levine to Brian Cashman down to Joe Girardi, the Yankees management believe they have all the answers.

Sadly, for Phil Hughes, it is becoming obvious that they don’t.

References:

Phil Hughes’ Lack of Velocity

Baseball Reference

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The New York Yankees are proud to display their best collection of minor league talent since the early-to-mid 1990s. They also have a fan base that is now more abreast on prospects than ever before, which inevitably causes love affairs and limitless hype thrust in the direction of teenagers.

There has been a heightened interest in young stars across the MLB landscape in general, as players such as Stephen Strasburg, Buster Posey, Jason Heyward, Bryce Harper, and Aroldis Chapman have captivated baseball circles.

All of this prospect hysteria has inspired me to create a list of the most hyped Yankees in team history—representing a caveat that cliffs lay waiting at each turn on the way to the mountain top.

These prospects will span more than six hype-filled decades, and will tell stories of both immortalized success and unbridled failure. Without further ado, let’s dive into the archives of Yankees minor league development:

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