It's still early but.............

Spring training is in full swing. Several issues with Yankees seem to be working themselves out. So far the fifth spot in the starting rotation have been the headlines. Still a battle for a possible second left-hander out of bullpen. Then we still have a battle going on for a fifth outfielder.

 Fifth starter:

Aceves is leading the pack so far after 10 innings of work he is posting an ERA of .90 has allowed one homer, struck out five and walked no batters. Simply put he has been pounding the strike zone, very effectively.

Hughes is coming in second. He has worked 8.2 innings, with an ERA of 2.08. Hughes has allowed two homer runs, struck out four and walked five. Good news is he seems to be getting better each time out and his change-up is becoming a reliable pitch. Now throwing it at anytime.

Chamberlain looks by all accounts to now be third on the list. He has worked 6.0 innings and posted an ERA of 16.2. Chamberlain has allowed 1 homer, struck out five and walked seven. If you remove the last inning of his previous performance,(hindered by a flu recovery). He remains in the thick of the battle, with a strong outing the last time he took the mound.

Mitre is fourth so far. He has posted an ERA of 3.00 in 9 innings of work. Mitre has allowed one homer, struck out seven and walked two. His velocity seems to be getting stronger now sitting at 93 mph.

Gaudin is fifth. He has worked 7 innings and posted an ERA of 7.71. Gaudin has allowed 2 homers, struck out four and walked two. Needs a big outing to get back into consideration.

Lefty relievers:

Logan seems to be leading so far but very tight. In 6 innings he has an ERA of 3.00. Logan has allowed no homers, struck out four and walked one.

Ring is not far behind. In 3.1 innings he has posted an ERA of 0.00. Ring has allowed no homers, struck out four and walked none. His delivery style is driving left handed hitters nuts. If he continues his progress he will be on the roster on opening day.

Fifth outfielder:

Hoffman is holding a slim lead here. Hoffman is posting a OBP of .143 and an AVE of .143. Best news is he has only struck out once in 22 AB and has a double. He continues to play all outfield positions and has committed one error. Nothing stellar here except his low strike outs. He is making contact and putting ball in play. This is what you want from a pinch hitter and someone off bench.

 Thames is posting a OBP of .208 and an AVE of .136. In 22 AB he has struck out seven times and has no extra base hits. The original though here was Thames had the inside track because of his power. So far long fly ball are not power. If this continues he will be looking for work come opening day. It is obvious he is strictly a left fielder and not a very good one either.

 Curtis has been doing very well, hitting the hell out of the ball. His chances remain slim, he is an obvious talent but has show some problems in the field. Yet he is on a tear. Will be interesting to see if he makes team. Hard to ignore his results at the plate so far. His biggest problem is like Miranda he is a left handed hitter and is an average fielder at best. Still a few weeks to make these decisions.

Sure seems like we are nearing a point in time where we might be looking to trade Gaudin and Mitre. One or both may have to go if the lefties keep doing so well out of the pen. Still some time but these questions linger:  Will Yankees carry two lefties? Who is Fifth outfielder? Who will be Fifth starter?