Joba Chamberlain’s transition—long speculated and spoken of by the Yankees brass—has begun.  Chamberlain has been extending his pitch counts in accordance with the greater demand of starting, a fair move.  A lot of people (Skip Bayless called the move “a disaster waiting to happen”) have bashed the mere idea of doing this mid-season, but for me, it’s okay.  People have raised the concern of getting Joba’s pitches up interfering with winning ball games; it doesn’t have to be that way.

If Joba is stinking up the joint, then it’s okay to pull him and let him finish his pitching in the bullpen. However, after tonight (Wednesday) it appears that Joba will tentatively be starting on Tuesday.  The Joba Era has begun. 

Just in case you haven’t heard, Chamberlain will sit at around 95 MPH with his fastball, throw a low 90s power slider and a nice tight curve in the 70s.  He has a change up, and it’s a fine pitch, but it’s absolutely #4 in the repertoire. 

What can we expect out of him?  Well, for starters, I’d imagine he’ll out do what Ian Kennedy and Phil Hughes were up to.  But that wouldn’t take a whole lot, seeing as they were both producing ERA's greater than or equal to 8.

Joba may not be stellar out of the box, but I’d bet a 4.00 ERA is possible.  And that would be fine.  The Yankees don’t want Joba to be the ace this year; they just hope he can produce at a reasonable level, and that is completely reasonable.

*****


Two big prospect debuts this week.  Jay Bruce, the young Center Fielder for the Reds, finally got the call this week after Walt Jocketty got sick of playing Corey “I’m Like a Guaranteed Out” Patterson everyday, even though his manager Dusty Baker seems to love the guy.

The difference in production between Bruce and Patterson will be staggering, and could spell the difference between 1st and 3rd place in the long run.

As for the second major debut, World, meet Clayton Kershaw.  Kershaw is the best pitching prospect in the minors, and now he’s up in the bigs.  Kershaw debuted Sunday and threw a quality start, and that could very well be a sign of things to come.

Kershaw has good to great stuff, and it looks a lot better because he’s left-handed.  Hell, he’s 20, and that makes everything look better too.  A lot better.

But as you all know, I am not a Homer Bailey fan (Why? He sucks) and Kershaw’s minor league numbers—albeit performed at a younger age—look eerily similar.  Lots of K’s (11.76 K/9 in the minors) and a fairly high walk rate (3.87). 

Anyone want to bet he can strike out 12 every game?  I wouldn’t.  So, basically, Kershaw looks like a good prospect but not a surefire hall of famer.  Kershaw ain’t no Sandy Koufax version 2.

*****

Speaking of left-handed pitching prospects, this is one that I really like: David Price.  You know who else might like him?  Pedro Martinez.  They faced off Wednesday night, and Price won.  Now, I wouldn’t take too much stock into this start for Pay-dro, because of the fact that he was probably more interested in throwing all of his pitches and getting himself ready.  Anyone doubt that Pedro could slaughter any baseball team for one start, regardless of level?  I don’t.

But that Price kid... he makes my Yankee heart flutter with fear.

If you ask me, “who will be the best pitcher in the AL East by 2010”, that answer is one of 6 options (or so): Chien-Ming Wang, Josh Beckett, Scott Kazmir, Joba Chamberlain, Clay Buchholz, or David Price.  (Phil Hughes and Jon Lester are in the fold, but I have doubts about both).

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