With Alex Rodriguez on the D.L. and Javier Vazquez pitching like crap the Yankees have turned to infielder Eduardo Nunez and starting pitcher Ivan Nova with impressive results. 23-year old righty swinging infielder Eduardo Nunez has played in 10 games since he was called up by the Yankees and he is 8 of 27 (.296 avg, .789 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 7 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Ivan Nova has bumped Javier Vazquez to the pen. Nova has pitched in 4 games (2 starts) for the Yankees so far this year and he is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He has whiffed 11 batters while only walking 2 in 14 innings as he is attacking the strike zone early and often in games. It’s odd to see the Yankees giving their prospects a chance instead of dealing them for proven players so maybe the Yankees are trying something new.

Starting 3B Alex Rodriguez isn’t hitting for the big time power that he’s used to in 2010 but he still has been producing a lot of runs for the Yankees. A-Rod has played in 111 games for the Yankees this year and he is 113 of 426 (.265 avg, .820 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 21 homers, 97 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Despite the 97 RBIs the Yankees expect more out of A-Rod whose batting average and OPS is way down this year. The Yankees can’t win the World Series or even the American League East without A-Rod performing at peak levels so they need him to pick it up the rest of the year.

The fact that the Yankees didn’t go after a high profile left fielder last winter left open the possibility that they were holding the job open for Carl Crawford (who will be a free agent after this season). But if that was the plan, 26-year old lefty swinging Brett Gardner has thrown a wrench into that plan with his play this year. Gardner has played in 78 games this season for the Yankees and he is 82 of 266 (.308 avg, .807 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 5 homers, 29 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. He is playing at an All-Star level for the Yankees this season but not everyone from the team can play in the All-Star Game next week. He definitely is earning himself a starting job for the Yankees down the road as he is one of the team’s MVPs this year.

The Yankees are sending six players to the All-Star game in Los Angeles. Robinson Cano and Derek Jeter will be the starting double play combo for the American League as they were voted in. Cano will be making his first appearance in the All-Star game which is kind of shocking based on his play to this point in his career. Cano has played in 80 games for the Yankees this season and he is 109 of 315 (.346 avg, .971 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 16 homers and 55 RBIs. If Cano has a strong second half he could make a run for the MVP Award in the A.L. Derek Jeter got this start basically on reputation. He will be making his 11th appearance in the mid-summer classic. Jeter has played in 78 games so far this season for the Yankees and he is 94 of 334 (.281 avg, .756 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 8 homers, 39 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Alex Rodriguez will be making his 13th appearance in the All-Star game but he will be coming off the bench. A-Rod has played in 74 games for the Yankees so far this season and he is 78 of 281 (.278 avg, .842 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 12 homers and 61 RBIs. Starting pitchers Phil Hughes and C.C. Sabathia have made the All-Star pitching staff. Hughes will be making his first appearance while Sabathia will be in his 4th All-Star game. Hughes has started 14 games for the Yankees this season and he is 10-2 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Sabathia started a tad slow this season but he’s on fire right now. The big lefty has started 17 games for the Yankees this season and he is 10-3 with a 3.33 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Mariano “The Sandman” Rivera will be making his 11th appearance in the All-Star Game. He has pitched in 31 games this season and he is 2-1 with 18 saves, a 0.86 ERA and a 0.61 WHIP. The Yankees will be well represented in Anaheim.

UPDATE: (7/5/2010) - Yankees’ manager Joe Girardi has added Andy Pettitte to the American League All-Star team due to Clay Buchholz’ injury. Pettitte has started 16 games for the Yankees this year and he is 10-2 with a 2.82 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He has only given up 90 hits in 105 1/3 innings this season. This will be his third All-Star appearance and he deserves this honor.

UPDATE II: (7/8/2010) - 29-year old switch hitting RF Nick Swisher has won the “Final Vote” and he will be on the All-Star Team. Swisher has played in 79 games so far this season and he is 89 of 299 (.298 avg, .895 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 14 homers and 48 RBIs.

24-year old righty swinging catcher Francisco Cervelli is one of the reasons the Yankees are in first place right now. When Jorge Posada broke his foot Cervelli stepped up big time and the Yankees’ pitching staff didn’t miss a beat. Cervelli has played in 51 games for the Yankees this season and he is 43 of 155 (.277 avg, .712 OPS) with 15 runs scored and 29 RBIs. It’s good to know the Yankees now have a backup catcher they can trust so that Jorge Posada gets the needed rest this year to stay fresh.