MLB 2012: Ubaldo Jimenez and 8 Players Facing Make-or-Break Seasons

Whether it be the danger of entrance into the career Quadruple-A club, or the difference between remaining an everyday starter and making the leap to becoming a perennial Cy Young candidate, several MLB players are teetering on the cusp of put-up-or-shut-up years.

Some have faced career-altering injuries. Others are approaching has-been status, while some are staring at the label never-was.

The following eight players need to up their game in 2012.

Phil Hughes, SP/RP, New York Yankees

Hughes' career has been a bit of a see-saw ride thus far.

The 25-year-old has had success as both a reliever and a starter—but his track record is spotted with failure in each role as well.

In 2010, Hughes posted an 18-8 record in 176.1 innings to go with a respectable (if not a tad high) 4.17 ERA en route to an All-Star appearance. But last season he came in with a 5.79 mark while battling shoulder inflammation to his pitching arm and continued dropped-velocity from his fastball. In addition, his K/9 ratio was down while his walks were up.

As of this writing, he remains in the running for the fifth slot in Joe Girardi's rotation and still oozes potential. But if he can't figure out how to be a bit more wily considering the decrease in MPH from his fastball, he'll find himself relegated to the back end of the 'pen.

Baseball-Reference.com's list of similar pitchers through the age of 25 includes Gil Meche and Roy Halladay, and at this point his career could go in either direction.

Does Hughes have the mental make-up to turn it around?

Andre Ethier, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

The irascible Ethier has MVP candidate written all over him—and at times, he performs like one. See 2009's .272/.361/.508 slash line, good enough for a sixth-place finish in the MVP race.

Two All-Star appearances later, Ethier's career is clearly on the right track. Which is why he is a surprising pick to appear on this list.

But the conditions here are about living up to one's potential, and Ethier has a higher ceiling. He's been outshone by teammate Matt Kemp the past two seasons, and it's time for the 29-year-old to step up his game.

Type the right fielder's name into Google along with "disgruntled," and you get roughly 843,000 results. In 2011, trade rumors abounded along with knee troubles, which limited him to 487 at-bats and the first sub-.800 OPS season of his career.

The 2012 season figures to be the year he will turn it around and fulfill his potential, or continue to slide.

Colby Rasmus, OF, Toronto Blue Jays

Just a few short years ago, Rasmus appeared to be on track for a solid career with one or more All-Star appearances on the horizon. The 2010 season seemed to be a breakout year of sorts, as we witnessed the then 23-year-old post a .276/.361/.498 slash line with 26 home runs and 66 RBI.

But less than a year later, the Cardinals had given up on him and shipped him to Toronto.

This deal was a head-scratcher at the time, as many crucified the St. Louis brass for giving up on such a young, talented outfielder, even if he was struggling mightily. But Rasmus proved Cardinals GM John Mozeliak to be a genius—at least for the second half of last season—as the new Blue Jay put up a wretch-inducing .173/.201/.316 slash line over 140 plate appearances. Ouch.

It may seem odd for such a young player to be at these crucial crossroads this early in his career (he is still just 25, after all), but it seems that if Rasmus doesn't at least return to his 2010 levels, we might never see the All-Star promise he flashed so early on fulfilled.

Mat Gamel, 1B, Milwaukee Brewers

Mat Gamel was on the cusp of being considered a bust. Then Prince Fielder signed a nine-year, $214 million mega-deal with the Detroit Tigers, and a second life was available for the once top prospect.

As late as 2009, the then third baseman found himself ranked as the No. 23 prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com. He's posted a .900-plus OPS each of the past two seasons, a span which included stops in AA Huntsville and AAA Nashville.

But his short stints with the Brewers have been less than stellar.

In 194 plate appearances over various call-ups between 2008 and 2011, Gamel managed an unimpressive .115/.148/.154 slash line. In his defense, he never really got much of a shot, as he was blocked by Fielder and the immortal Casey McGehee (now departed for Pittsburgh) at the corners, but his time to shine has come.

With the hole left by Fielder and the Brewers still expected to have an above-average lineup, Gamel has become a sleeper favorite and the darling of many fantasy baseball drafts this spring.

Can he fulfill that promise and avoid the bust label? Next season will go a long way in finding out.

Domonic Brown, OF, Philadelphia Phillies

Perpetually on the no-fly list when it comes to blockbuster trades (see Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay), Domonic Brown's path the majors was cleared last offseason when Jayson Werth flew the coop for Washington.

Yet he couldn't quite seize the right field job in 2011.

His minor league numbers are stellar (though he struggled last year), and the position is still wide open this spring. This doesn't necessarily have to be an All-Star campaign for Brown, but it's time for him to take a starting spot at the major league level.

The problem is, he was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday. The Phillies will try him in left and hope he can right some of the defensive woes he's had over the past few years.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel told the Philadelphia Inquirer's Matt Gelb the following:

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"Domonic Brown has a real good chance to be a tremendous hitter," Manuel said. "And I know if he really gets after it, he has the talent to be a good outfielder, or a very solid outfielder. It's up to him to do that."

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It's also up to him to take on a significant role for a team which is a likely playoff contender in 2012—that or face the reality that he may just become another Quadruple-A player if this continues.

Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants

Everyone, aside from possibly Dodgers fans and the rest of the NL West, is rooting for Buster Posey. The question is not whether he can become a star—it's whether he can be one again.

After missing most of 2011 following a horrific ankle injury at the hands of the Marlins' Scott Cousins, all indications are that Posey is poised for a comeback this year.

The 24-year-old catcher (and sometimes first baseman) has seen action at both positions this spring, but the Giants are taking it slow with the ankle at this point and are in no way attempting to rush him back.

In all likelihood, Posey will return to form as the franchise catcher he was before the collision.

But will any mental timidity crop up following the injury? Only time will tell.

Ubaldo Jimenez, SP, Cleveland Indians

On July 31, 2011, the Colorado Rockies traded the greatest pitcher in the history of their franchise in the midst of his prime. The Rockies were not rebuilding.

Many filed this one under the "they must know something we don't" category and moved on—everyone but the Cleveland Indians, that is.

On the surface, Jimenez's traditional numbers with the Indians made the Rockies look shrewd. He went 4-4 with a 5.10 ERA over 65.1 innings after the deadline.

But a second glance at his peripherals paints a different picture. His pre- and post-trade K/9, BB/9 and K/BB ratios are nearly identical to his 2010 numbers—a season which he finished third in the Cy Young voting.

Yet even in his masterful 2010 campaign, Jimenez was the clear-cut winner of the Cy Young through the first half of the season, then struggled to close out the year.

Has something changed since then? The Rockies certainly thought so.

Josh Johnson, SP, Miami Marlins

Unquestionably the staff ace and one of the most talented arms in the National League when healthy, Johnson has had multiple injury issues over the course of his career, including Tommy John surgery in 2007.

As Stephania Bell of ESPN.com points out:

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Johnson's season ended when he was shut down in September because of shoulder inflammation and an upper back injury. Any time shoulder inflammation is in the conversation, it raises a flag because shoulder issues in a pitcher are known to be more problematic than elbow injuries.

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That was written on March 22, 2011. Johnson was subsequently place on the disabled list in May and spent the majority of the rest of the year right there.

This season, he is on schedule to start Opening Day and by all accounts is back to form.

If he stays that way? Sky's the limit.

But shoulder inflammation has a tendency to return, so who knows? Johnson's injury status could be the difference between winning the pennant and looking up at the Washington Nationals.