Rotation Review

Coming into spring training the Yankees boast a deep rotation with all the ingredients for success. They have a legitimate ace to build around, several veterans to provide depth in the middle and significant potential at the back end. It's easy to see that the team has constructed a top five big league rotation. Let's do a quick breakdown of all the starters and their roles on the roster.

Ace: C.C. Sabathia

Veteran with high upside: A.J. Burnett

Veteran depth: Andy Pettitte, Javier Vazquez

Those spots in the rotation are in place. I'm personally in favor of going with a lefty-righty succession and therefore keeping the above four in the order I've listed them. The most interesting story line in Yankees camp this Spring will no doubt be the competition for the fifth spot.

Competition: Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes

Insurance: Chad Gaudin, Alfredo Aceves, Sergio Mitre

According to the New York Daily News the 'Joba Rules' are longer in place. At 24 years-old he'll finally be able to let it fly and not worry about how many pitches he's thrown or how many innings he's pitched. That can only be a good thing. Chamberlain really struggled towards the end of last season and his command completely failed him at times. Things need to improve.

Hughes took a big step forward last year with his dominant work out of the bullpen, but the 23 year-old still struggled in the occasional start. The low point being a 1.2 inning, eight earned run, shellacking at the hands of the Orioles on May 9th. It was soon after that he was placed in the bullpen and something seemed to click. He showed excellent control, posted outstanding numbers and was a sturdy eighth inning bridge to Mariano Rivera.

Having capable guys like Gaudin, Aceves and Mitre to back up the two young guns is key, but obviously the Yankees are looking for either Hughes or Chamberlain to live up to the potential as a starter. Beginning tomorrow I'm going to go in-depth into the competition while trying to put to rest the whole "better in the bullpen" argument, because it's perfectly clear to me that both of these guys are starters who are capable of one day anchoring a rotation.