Phil Hughes Beats Joba For Rotation Spot
- Thursday, March 25, 2010 12:32 PM
- Written By: AccuScore
Manager Joe Girardi announced Thursday that Phil Hughes is the last man standing in the competition for the final spot in the Yankees rotation. The 23-year-old righty beat out Alfredo Aceves, Sergio Mitre and Joba Chamberlain for the job.
AL EAST FORECAST |
PLAYOFF | DIV_WIN | WINS | LOSSES |
New York Yankees |
90.0% | 72.7% | 96.9 | 65.1 |
Boston Red Sox |
56.9% | 19.6% | 90.0 | 72.0 |
Tampa Bay Rays |
26.3% | 7.6% | 85.8 | 76.2 |
Baltimore Orioles |
0.5% | 0.1% | 72.2 | 89.8 |
Toronto Blue Jays |
0.2% | 0.0% | 70.1 | 91.9 |
IMPACT |
PLAYOFF | DIV_WIN | WINS | LOSSES |
P. Hughes 5th Starter |
90.0% | 72.7% | 96.9 | 65.1 |
Chamberlain 5th Starter |
81.8% | 59.9% | 94.5 | 67.5 |
| IMPROVEMENT | 8.2% | 12.8% | 2.4 | -2.4 |
With Hughes in the rotation, the Yankees become even bigger favorites in the AL East and have the highest forecasted playoff probability in baseball. New York is now projected to win nearly 97 games with a 72 percent chance to win the division. That is a +2.4 win increase and a substantial 12.8 percent boost in the division probability compared to having Chamberlain in the rotation.
Hughes started seven games in 2009 before grabbing hold of the 8th inning set-up role. As a reliever, he blossomed striking out more than 10 batters per 9 IP and cutting down his walks. His much-discussed teammate Chamberlain will now move back to the bullpen, where many think he should have been all along. While Hughes could be expected to regress some as a starter from his stellar 2009 numbers with the expanded role, Chamberlain should reasonably be expected to perform much better out of the bullpen. AccuScore projections show this is a smart decision by Girardi.
