Yankees shouldn't rush Banuelos

With the Yankees' rotation in more than a bit of flux, the calls from fans for Banuelos to be part of the immediate solution continue. He'll make at least one more appearance with the big league team, likely on Saturday, but he's going to the minors after that, and it's the right decision for the Yankees long term.

Twenty-year-old starting pitchers in the big leagues are rarities, but having a player like Banuelos, who has made just three starts above Class-A ball, in the big leagues would be nearly unprecedented. Seventeen pitchers this decade have come up as starters prior to their 21st birthday, and the one constant among them was a full workload the previous year, as they averaged more than 140 innings in the year prior to their debuts, with all 17 pitching at least 100 frames. In addition, only three of the 17 -- CC Sabathia (2001), Jeremy Bonderman (2003) and Rick Porcello (2009) -- opened their debut year in the majors, with the remaining 14 averaging more than 100 minor league innings in the season they first got the call.

Make no mistake about it, Banuelos could at the very least hold his own in the big leagues right now, but the real question revolves around how long he could do it.

To read why the Yankees should wait to bring up Banuelos, despite their problems in the rotation, you must be an ESPN Insider.

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