The Joba Chamberlain Question

Ever since Joba Chamberlain was called up from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to the Yankees bullpen, he has been a rock star in New York.

His electric stuff is undeniable. His competitive nature is clear just by looking at him on the mound. His youth, along with others, has invigorated a tired organization.

The question remains:

Does Joba belong in the bullpen as the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera or does he belong in the starting rotation?

The plan, according to all involved, is to eventually move Joba to the starting rotation. The speculation remains, however, that he will remain in the bullpen and eventually be the Yankees closer.

Undoubtedly, there are pros to keeping Joba in the bullpen. Many would argue that a Joba/Rivera combination for the eighth and ninth inning would be the best in baseball for years to come.

When considering the few advantages the Yankees have over the Red Sox and the like, an argument can be made that they can not afford to give up that advantage based on the potential of Joba Chamberlain.

In order for this potential to be realized, Chamberlain would have to gain command of pitches besides his fastball and slider and would have to be able to sustain his electric stuff over the course of six to seven innings at the major league level.

He is unproven as a starter. However, if he develops his curve-ball into an out pitch, like his fastball or slider, you simply can not leave him in a bullpen role. Ultimately, this is not an unreasonable aspiration-- his curve is already better than many big-league pitchers.

A pitcher of his caliber cannot be wasted with an 80 inning a year role when he can be pitching 200 innings, especially when considering the unparalleled value a cost-controlled player has.

Via Pete Abraham of the Journal News (April 21, 2008)

"Joba has been available to pitch in 15 games this season. He has appeared in five of those games for a total of 6.1 innings. That’s 19 outs. If he were a starter, he would have appeared in three of those 15 games for about 20 innings. That’s 60 outs".

Financially, it makes no sense. 

The fact of the matter is that starting pitchers are in much higher demand than set-up guys. If Joba became a starter for the 2009 season, for example, the Yankees could easily go out and sign a free-agent like Brian Fuentes to fill the set-up role—that's assuming a Mark Melancon or David Robertson type doesn't come up mid-season and fill the role.

Conversely, finding a reliable and effective starter on the open market is, to be blunt, a crapshoot.

My argument is not that Joba must be a starter, but simply that the Yankess brass have to give him a chance to be a starter. Joba could very well be an ace in the making. 

If they don’t move him to the rotation, there will always be the lingering question of "What if?"