Nuno Cracks The Code

Differences in Vidal Nuno last night. Better FB, better slider and, most of all, better location. Held the Red Sox to 0 for 8 w men on base.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) June 28, 2014

Not to make too much fun of Jack, because I think he's one of the best Yankee reporters and analysts out there, but this is about as "duh" a statement as you can make.  You mean to tell me a pitcher who throws a good fastball, good slider, and locates his pitches is going to have a good game?  NO WAY!!!  Hot Take City USA, population Jack Curry.

In all seriousness, good for Nuno for turning in a good start last night.  His team needed it to calm the talk about how he needs to be taken out of the rotation, and he needed it to get a little boost of confidence.  To have a start like he had at home can only help that confidence and hopefully it means more good starts like this for the next.  Hopefully it also leads to more groundbreaking analysis like this from the Yankee beat guys.

Should Vidal Nuno Even Be In The Rotation Anymore?

("Try to keep this one in the park, guy."  Courtesy of the AP)

(Originally published at IIATMS/TYA)

On Saturday morning, it was like things were finally starting to come together.  The Yankees had won 4 games in a row and looked pretty good doing it in all aspects of the game.  By last night, things were right back to normal.  Shoddy infield defense, inconsistent performances from the lower-level middle relievers, the inability to string hits together and drive guys in, and VERY uneven starting pitching.

Actually, uneven might be understating it a touch.  It was horrible.  After David Phelps' brilliant work on Friday night, the last 2 Yankee starters combined to give up 12 ER in just 7.2 IP on Saturday and Sunday.  The bulk of that (in the smaller amount of innings) came from the left hand of Vidal Nuno.  He gave up 6 ER to the first 10 batters he faced yesterday, and 8 overall in 3 innings.  Dom alluded to it earlier this morning and Katie hinted at it a few weeks ago, so now I'm just going to come right out and ask the question that needs asking.  Should Vidal Nuno still have a spot in the rotation?

Another Day Of Firsts For Nuno Today

Vidal Nuno will make his second start in place of the injured Ivan Nova this afternoon against the Angels.  It will be his second start at Yankee Stadium in his short Major League career and his first afternoon start.  It will also be the first time he's faced the Angels and their big hitters like Albert Pujols and Mike Trout, a frightening thought for a young pitcher, but keep this in mind.  On the other side of the matchup, it's the first time for them and the rest of the LA lineup against Nuno.

The Angels no doubt have their scouting reports and video on Nuno to prepare themselves for today's game, but Nuno may have a slight advantage in this first time matchup.  As a pitcher who throws a lot of different pitches and a lot of offspeed stuff, he gives opposing hitters plenty to think about up there.  They don't know his tendencies and they don't know what the ball looks like coming out of his hand.  He played that to his advantage very well last Sunday when he tossed 5 shutout innings against the Rays.  If he's commanding his stuff, maybe he can do it again.

Expect a healthy helping of sliders, 4-seamers, curveballs, and sinkers today, and maybe a changeup or 2 for good measure.  Don't expect to see high velocity, but hopefully the mixing of pitches and lack of familiarity will help Nuno help his team even up this series.

Monday Morning Food For Thought: Vidal Nuno, 5th Starter

(Courtesy of the AP)

5/13/13- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K
5/25/13- 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
5/30/13- 6 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
4/20/14- 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K

It isn't a large or meaningful sample size by any stretch of the imagination, but Vidal Nuno does have a very good history as a Major League starter.  He allowed just 4 runs in 3 spot starts last May and stepped up to toss 5 shutout innings against a red hot Tampa Bay lineup yesterday.  With Ivan Nova on the DL and likely looking at season-ending TJS, the Yankees are going to need a full-time replacement in the starting rotation and right now Nuno looks like the best man for the job.  He's got a track record of being a strike thrower, he mixes pitches well, and his offspeed stuff is good enough to strike out Major League hitters.

The Yankee decision makers have today to look at other alternatives, but there really isn't much else to consider.  Adam Warren is a short reliever now, David Phelps isn't stretched out to nearly enough pitches to be a viable starting option, and there's nobody in Triple-A who's better than Nuno.  After 5 years in the Minors and a couple cups of coffee, Nuno looks like he's finally going to get his big chance.

Nuno Could Be Headed To The DL

Speaking to the media before this afternoon's game, Joe Girardi confirmed it was a groin injury that caused Vidal Nuno to leave his Triple-A start in the 2nd inning last night.  There has been no official diagnosis of the injury yet, but it sounds very likely that Nuno will have to go on the disabled list.

This is another small ding the Yankees' have taken to the starting depth in the last 24 hours.  They lost Chien-Ming Wang yesterday to a Major League deal with the Toronto Blue Jays and now could lose Nuno to a significant chunk of time.  Ivan Nova now assumes the 6th starter role for the Major League club while Michael Pineda starts his rehab assignment tonight.

Andy Pettitte To The DL, Vidal Nuno Called Back Up

This doesn't come as good news after Joe talked him leaving the game early last night down like it was no big deal.  The Yankees have elected to put Andy Pettitte on the disabled list with his upper left trap injury, and have recalled Vidal Nuno from Triple-A to take his spot on the roster and presumably in the rotation as well.

It's a small bit surprising that Joe would be so open about how not big a deal the injury was in last night's presser and then have this be the move the next day.  The Yankees just got done botching the Kevin Youkilis situation, so they shouldn't really be saying boo about anybody's health if the actions aren't in agreement.  There's a chance this is the Yankees using this latest injury blip as justification for putting Andy on the DL and giving him a significant chunk of time to fully rest his back, which they didn't do last time.  That being said, it still doesn't do much to ease the concern about this being a lingering issue for Andy for the rest of the season.

Vidal Nuno, A Man Of Many (Potential) Roles

(Welcome to the show, guy.  Courtesy of the AP)

The lone bright spot in last night's absolute stink pot of a game was the Major League debut of Vidal Nuno.  After being released from the Cleveland Indians' A-ball affiliate following the 2010 season, Nuno has worked himself up through five levels of the Yankee MiL system in just a little over two seasons and put himself in a position to capitalize on an opportunity when Ivan Nova went on the DL.  While so many people focus on what Nuno isn't when labeling him an automatic non-prospect, I put more stock into what he is when I evaluated him and included him in this year's AB4AR Top 30 (30th spot).  He might not be big, he might not throw hard, and he might not have devastating offspeed stuff, but he's still before his prime at age 25, he throws strikes, he has outstanding command, and his offspeed stuff is just good enough to strike a fair amount of batters out.  As a lefty, that's not a bad skill set to possess.

Nuno's greatest quality, at least as it relates to the current Yankee roster, might be his flexibility.  That ability to pitch in multiple scenarios, paired with the aforementioned left-handedness, could make Nuno a very versatile bullpen piece for Joe to use as he sees fit.