2011 Fantasy Baseball Pitching Preview: CC Sabathia & The New York Yankees

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· January 29, 2011

As always, the Yankees have a chance to be really good this year. Except for the minor problem that their no. 2 starter has one year of starting experience in the majors, their no. 3 starter is probably the single most maddening starter in baseball, their no. 4 starter has seven major league starts to his credit, and their no. 5 starter is either a guy who has never pitched in the majors or a guy who couldn’t hold the starting spot when it was handed to him last summer. Suffice it to say that if the Yankees win the World Series, it will defeat the adage that pitching wins championships.

CC Sabathia is where it all starts, and thankfully for the Yanks, this guy is awesome. One of baseball’s most consistent pitchers, he hasn’t won fewer than 17 games since 2006 (and even then he had 3.22 ERA and 1.17 WHIP). He strikes out a ton of guys, keeps his WHIP super low, and he never gets hurt. For my money, he’s in the top three or starters in baseball. I don’t believe in picking pitchers in the first round, but he’s a guy to target very high.

Phil Hughes is the aforementioned no. 2 starter with a year’s worth of full-time starting under his belt. He’s got filthy stuff, and throws as hard as anyone around, but I am definitely concerned about his 2010 trajectory.

In April and May he was virtually unhittable, but after the All Star break, he was a mere 7-6 with a 4.90 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and a significantly lower K/IP than the first half. Was he tired? I don’t know, but it would be odd for a guy who turned 24 last year to be tired in early July.

Overall, I think Hughes is a high risk-high reward pick. You could catch lightning in a bottle a la David Price last year, or he could be that much better suited to the long relief role he dominated in 2009.

AJ Burnett. Is there a guy in baseball with filthier stuff? He shows flashes of such brilliance that you can’t ignore him, but then he turns around and goes 1-7 with an ERA of 7.00 after August 1, when both his and your seasons are on the line. I just can’t recommend him…but then he’ll pitch lights out for two months and my theory is shot.

And then the bottom falls out. Andrew Brackman…Ivan Nova…Sergio Mitre…Manny Banuelos. You’re joking, right? This is who the Yankees intend to run out there twice a week? All I can say is stay…away… from all of them. I can’t in good conscience recommend any of these guys, except Banuelos, who’s got a ton of talent but is only 19 and beginning the year in AA.

But what this means is that Cashman is going to have to get a starter somewhere this summer, so watch the waiver wire for that.

Written by Jesse Mendelson exclusively for www.thefantasyfix.com. Be sure to check back every Wednesday for Jesse’s waiver wire column (and considering he used the waiver wire to sweep all three of his leagues last year, you might want to pay attention). Find and follow Jesse on Facebook.

Tags: The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Baseball Draft, Chris Summers, 2011 Fantasy Baseball, Fantasy Baseball Advice, Pitching Previews, Fantasy Sports Blog, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Rankings, American League East, New York Yankees

2011 Fantasy Baseball Pitching Preview: CC Sabathia & The New York Yankees