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Yankees Editorial: With Chris Capuano Out, Who Will take the Fifth Spot in Rotation?

By Michael Cambria

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As Chris Capuano strolled into the Yankees clubhouse with Gene Monahan after exiting his scheduled start on Wednesday in the first inning, his chances of making the Opening Day roster as the Yankees fifth-starter were likely dismantled.

Capuano was quickly examined by Dr. Daniel Murphy and later sent for an MRI, which revealed a Grade 2 strain of the right quadricep. No timetable was given for his possible recovery, but manager Joe Girardi said after the game that he would “be surprised if (Capuano) isn’t down for a little while.” It appears as if Capuano is set to start the season on the dreaded injured-rserve list.

Thus, the first significant injury of spring training may have left the door wide open for the team’s last rotation spot, so who will rise to the occasion?

My money is on 25-year old Chase Whitley, who’s been one of the most consistent pitchers for the Yankees so far in camp. Whitley has pitched five innings over two appearances, one being a scheduled spring training start. In those five innings pitched, he has an ERA of 0.00, a 1.40 WHIP, and has given up four hits while striking out two. Yes, he’s given up three walks, but if you watch closely, it’s only because he’s experimenting with a curve ball this spring, something he hasn’t done in a long time. This spring, Whitley has really improved his ground ball ratio, recording a total of five outs thus far via the ground ball. If he keeps this up, I think he’ll get the first nod for the fifth start during the regular season.

Another potential candidate is the 27-year old right-hander Adam Warren, who will make his team-leading third spring training start on Friday when the Yankees take on the Boston Red Sox at 7:05pm. In his first two starts this spring, Warren has been nothing short of impressive. He’s pitched a total of five innings and has recorded an ERA of 1.80 and a pretty impressive WHIP of 1.00. He’s given up a total of five hits, but has recorded one strikeout and has walked none. Outside of giving up one home-run, he’s been in total control during each of his starts.

After Warren, the next potential arm is right-hander Esmil Rogers, who will get his second start of the Spring on Saturday. The ability to control his pitches have been his biggest problem over his career, but so far this spring, he looks as if he’s cleared that hurdle.  In three innings pitched this spring, Rogers has given up just one hit while fanning three batters. He has an ERA of 0.00 and an astounding WHIP of 0.33, but the sample size to this point has been too small. Let’s see if he can build on these numbers going forward.

Other notable options include Scott Baker, Bryan Mitchell and maybe even top prospect Luis Severino, but Servino is a real long shot, considering he’s only 21 and has pitched just six-games above Single-A in the minor leagues.

What do you think Yankees fans? Who should get the nod as the Yankees fifth-starter with Chris Capuano set to open up the season on IR?

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