25 Chasing 28: Ivan Nova & the New York Yankees Roster

Name: Ivan Manuel Nova

DOB: January 12, 1987

2010 in Review: Nova came up the Yankees to pitch a couple meaningless innings in May, then went back to Scranton. He continued to impress, eventually earning a late August call up.  He started 7 games, posted an ERA near 5 and only once finished the 6th inning.  But the Yankees' staff was in such disrepair that we legitimately wondered if Nova shouldn't have gotten a postseason start.

The Good: Nova's results weren't terrible in 2010. He just turned 24, and his first time through the batting order he looked good.  With some adjustments he could be a serviceable big league pitcher.

The Bad: Nova is not going to spend the year in the Yankees' rotation. He only through about 60% of his pitches for strikes (small sample size, of course), and he only got swing and miss on 8% of his pitches.  That's a lot more Sergio Mitre (59/7) than it is Phil Hughes (66/9).

2011 Outlook: The title of the post is a little misleading; there's a chance Nova won't even break camp with the big club. I think Freddy Garcia will take the 4th spot in the rotation, leaving Colon, Nova, Mitre and a slew of prospects to battle for the 5th spot and the long man role.  I have Mitre pencilled in for long man (on the justification of "he has experience preparing for that role," read: we don't want to start the arbitration clock on a real prospect), and I think that there's a fair chance that a prospect already on the 40-man (Noesi, Brackman, Betances) could win the 5th spot.  Either way, Nova will be a part of the Yankees in 2011- either on the team or as the first man up.