The Yankees have five starting pitchers with double figures in wins this year. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be changes in the rotation come October especially if A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez continue to suck. 29-year old lefty C.C. Sabathia is the unquestioned ace of the starting rotation for the Yanks. He has started 31 games for the Yankees this year and he is 19-6 with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. 24-year old righty Phil Hughes is the #2 guy right now but the Yankees are in a quandry with him. They want to watch his workload but they need him to keep taking his turn if they want to make the playoffs. He has pitched in 27 games (26 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 16-7 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Hughes does appear to be slowing down a bit and that’s not a good thing for the Yankees. 38-year old lefty Andy Pettitte is on a minor league rehab assignment right now with the hope that he’ll be ready to return to NY soon. He has started 18 games this year for the Yanks and he is 11-2 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. The Yankees hope he’s ready to roll when he comes back because they can’t afford to have him rusty. 33-year old righty A.J. Burnett has flat out sucked this year for the Yanks. He has started 29 games for the Yanks this year and he is 10-13 with a 5.13 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. He is pretty much pitching extended batting practice for the opposing team this year. 34-year old Javier Vazquez has not been that much better than Burnett. He has pitched in 28 games (25 starts) this year for the Yankees and he is 10-9 with a 5.09 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.

The Yankees really thought they could depend on A.J. Burnett and Javier Vazquez in the starting rotation this year but they were wrong. Burnett has started 25 games for the Yankees this year and he is 9-11 with a 4.80 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He has given up 158 hits (19 homers) and he has walked 60 batters in only 148 innings this year. A guy with the stuff that Burnett has shouldn’t be putting up numbers like he does, period. Javier Vazquez has pitched in 24 games (23 starts) for the Yanks this year and he is 9-9 with a 5.05 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has given up 130 hits (26 homers) and he has walked 53 batters in 130 innings for the Yankees this year. The Yankees are going to skip Vazquez’ next start giving it to rookie Ivan Nova instead. It’s amazing to me that the Yankees are 77-48 with Burnett & Vazquez starting 40% of the games for them so far this year.

37-year old righty reliever Chan Ho Park has been awful so far this year for the Yankees. He has pitched in 12 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this year and he is 1-1 with a 6.46 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. Park has given up 21 hits (5 homers) in only 15 1/3 innings this season for the Yankees. The Yankees had hoped that he would give them some good innings in middle relief but he’s quickly turning into a glorified mop up man.

Javier Vazquez was awful in his season debut for the Yankees last Friday Night. He was the losing pitcher working 5 2/3 innings in which he gave up 8 hits (2 homers), walked 3 batters and whiffed 5. I didn’t like the trade for Vazquez over the winter because he was awful in his first time around with the Yankees. In 2004, he started 32 games and was 14-10 with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He gave up a stunning 33 homers that season and the new Yankee Stadium is a launching pad.

The Yankees have designated 25-year old righty pitcher Anthony Claggett for assignment. Claggett pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Yankees this season and he is 0-0 with a 33.75 ERA and a 5.62 WHIP. Claggett has allowed a stunning 11 hits, 2 homers and he has walked 4 batters in only 2 2/3 innings. This guy is simply not a major league pitcher and the Yankees should release him if he clears waivers.

UPDATE: The Pirates have claimed Claggett off waivers.