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Via Marc Carig:
Assuming that weather doesn’t change the schedule, Phil Hughes will make his first start for the Yankees on April 15 against the Angels.
But before that, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Hughes will stay stretched out by pitching in extended spring training games on April 5 and 10.
Hughes will remain on the active roster in case he’s needed by the Yankees to spot start or make a relief appearance.
“That’s what I figured was going to happen,” Hughes said. “So, nothing unexpected.”
When the Yankees first announced that Phil had won the 5th starter spot, I was concerned about innings limits and said the following:
As you can see, Phil’s career high came in 2006, when he threw 146 innings. That is 4 seasons ago, and some have trouble believing that the Yankees are going to depend on that as a baseline for 2010. However, Marc Carig stated on Twitter that Hughes will have a higher limit than Joba did in 2009, when he threw 163.1 innings. I think it is more likely that the Yankees split the difference between a jump from 105 (2009) and 146 (2006) and give Phil about 165-170 innings, as Rob noted. If they do so, Phil will eventually scrape against that limit much as Joba did. Hopefully, they can figure out a way to handle that issue with more aplomb than they did last time. I would think that skipping two starts prior to the All-Star Break and two after the break would make the most sense, with those starts going to Joba or Aceves.
Since that time, a number of beat writers have thrown out 175 IP as the limit for Hughes. With his slightly delayed start to the season, Hughes should make 30 or 31 starts, assuming perfect health and that he is not skipped. At 31 starts and 5 and 2/3rds innings per outing, he should come in right around that threshold, and one skipped start would leave him with some cushion to help the club in the postseason. Of course, it is possible that he contributes more innings per start, but that would be a good problem to have, as it would mean that he is being quite efficient and effective. Regardless, it does not seem like the innings limit will have a major impact on Hughes in 2010.
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