BLANK STARE: David Phelps bears down during a five-inning shutout stint in the Yankees’ 3-0 exhibition win over the Blue Jays yesterday in Dunedin, Fla. (Reuters)
DUNEDIN, Fla. — The pre-game crossword puzzle routine is familiar, and so is his thoughtfulness before answering questions. He comes from a university steeped in academic and athletic tradition. And if you watch long enough, there is a resemblance in his pitching mechanics.
This is not to imply David Phelps is going to have Mike Mussina’s career, but there are similarities between the right-handers who attended Notre Dame and Stanford, respectively.
Phelps has been terrific in four exhibition starts and remains locked into a fight for the No. 5 starter spot with fellow righty Ivan Nova — provided Phil Hughes avoids opening the season on the disabled list.
“They are matching each other inning for inning,’’ Joe Girardi said of Phelps and Nova. “That’s a good problem.’’
Phelps made a big splash in yesterday’s 3-0 win over the Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium by tossing five shutout innings and allowing just three hits. In 14 spring innings, the 26-year-old, who was taken in the 14th round of the 2008 draft, has allowed one run.
“He has picked up where he left off,” Girardi said of Phelps, who went 4-4 with a 3.34 ERA in 33 games (11 starts) a year ago.
Phelps understands the competition with Nova, who has worked in two games, logging five innings without allowing a run.
PHOTOS: YANKEES SPRING TRAINING
It’s likely the loser in the fifth-starter competition will land in the role of long relief.
Having been a starter in the minor leagues, Phelps is more familiar with that assignment than the bullpen. Still, a big league relief gig is more appealing than being a Triple-A starter.
“That’s what I want to do, that’s what I have done my whole career,” Phelps said of being a starter. “But whatever is best for the team is what I want to do. It would be selfish to say, ‘I want to be a starter no matter what.’ If that’s not the role they need me in, then it’s not beneficial to the team.”
Phelps has started in 90 of his 91 minor league games. Nova has made 118 minor league appearances and 107 were starts. Sixty-two of his 66 major league games have been as a starter.
Yesterday against a Blue Jays lineup that had five regulars, Phelps was as precise as Mussina was when he was carving up AL hitters without pushing the speed guns into the high 90s.
“I like him better than Nova,’’ an NL talent evaluator said of Phelps. “He has an average fastball, 89 to 91, and knows how to pitch. He throws the fastball where he wants to and throws the breaking ball behind in the count. I like him.’’
Because his fastball doesn’t spike the speed guns, some scouts are not sold on Phelps. They also say Nova’s stuff is superior to Phelps’ four-pitch repertoire.
However, an AL scout said there are pitchers for which the guns aren’t the correct way to evaluate.
“Throw the gun out. If he pitches the way he did today, he will be a fine fourth or fifth guy,’’ the scout explained. “He will give you chance to get into the sixth inning.’’
The Yankees believed Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos would be contributing as big league starters by now. They thought Michael Pineda eventually would pitch his way to the top of the rotation.
But Betances took a major step back last year due to control problems, and Banuelos will miss the season because of Tommy John surgery. Pineda has yet to throw a big league pitch for the Yankees because of shoulder surgery.
After all the hype surrounding those three arms, it turns out Phelps is much closer to helping the Yankees.