Stats of the Day: Rookies Get Rocked

Ok, one of these guys isn't a rookie, but it sounded good.

Cincinnati	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Cueto (L, 1-3)	1.2	8	7	6	1	2	0	5.40

Johnny Cueto lit up the majors in his first two starts, totaling 18 strikeouts and no walks in 13 1/3 innings. Since then he has fallen back to earth and inflated his ERA to 5.40 after a disastrous start last night against the Cardinals.

The main issue in Cueto's latest breakdown was control. He was up to 55 pitches in under two innings, partially aided by 2 errors in the field, and often reached full counts against opposing hitters. Cueto missed on a few pitches which ended up over the heart of the plate and turned into hits. His lack of early control also had him relying heavily on his fastball, which the Cardinals feasted upon.

We know Cueto can be great, but the fact is he is still only 22 years old and this is the kind of inconsistency that comes with a young pitcher. Expectations were high after his first two starts, but this kid isn't going to win the Cy Young this year. Cueto owners may be growing impatient so it might actually be a good time to buy low if you can.

NY Yankees	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR	ERA
Hughes (L, 0-4)	3.2	8	6	6	3	2	2	9.00

While Johnny Cueto has put together some impressive starts so far this year, we're still waiting on Phil Hughes to do so. His best start to date was on April 3rd when he pitched 6 innings, struck out 4, and gave up 2 runs. Since then he has failed to make it through the 6th inning again.

Hughes big problem has been efficiency and just being flat out hittable. He reached 87 pitches in 3 innings in one start, 65 in 2 innings in another, and racked up 82 pitches last night. So far he has given up 34 hits in 22 innings and things don't seem to be getting any better. Like Cueto, he has missed pitches right down the middle of the plate, resulting in home runs by Curtis Granderson and Gary Sheffield.

Phil Hughes seems to have bigger issues this year, though his stuff hasn't been bad by any means. With a 13/13 K/BB ratio he has some control issues that need to be corrected soon as he is vital to the Yankees chances in 2008.