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The defending champion New York Yankees hold that title for a reason. Their starting rotation features some of the best pitchers year in and year out. Last year, it was the success of CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Andy Pettitte that catapulted this team to a championship.

This year, they added Javier Vazquez, a National League Cy Young candidate and former Yankee. He will help round out one the best rotations in baseball.

But, even the best team in baseball has some questions to answer. The youngsters Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes await to see where their fate will land them; as a starter, or as a reliever.

These top prospects have been juggled around for most of their time in the Majors, and no one can really tell if the Yankees have gotten the best out of them. However, I think it's fair to say that, coming off a championship, 2010 would be a great time to establish these young pitchers as either a starter or a reliever.

Ideally, the Yankees would love to have one as a starter and one as a reliever. One could help round out a great rotation, and one could help out setting up the best reliever in baseball. But who will do what?

Both of these pitchers have seen their success as relievers. Chamberlain burst on to the scene throwing heat out of the pen and saw great success. Hughes broke out last year, and the Yankees seemed to love him in front of Rivera.

But, remember the flip side. Chamberlain started 31 frustrating games last year, and showed no signs of being a successful starter. Hughes, on the other hand, was a starter for all of his life before last year.

Hughes also proves to be better fit for a starting role and Chamberlain better fit for a relieving role. Hughes features a wider variety of pitches than Chamberlain and has better control; two things that benefit starters. Chamberlain throws more breaking balls and relies more on velocity; two things that benefit relief pitchers.

In the end, the Yankees would just love to get the most out of these two pitchers, and soon. Every year, they just get older and older, and struggle even more to find a purpose in their careers. With both these players turning 24, the Yankees should feel some urgency to break them in for good, and set them up for another run at a Yankee dynasty.

jess.coleman@classactsports.com
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