The most common answer was, “I would take both.”
But the respondents were not allowed to squirm away that easily, not when the competition created is: “Who is the best young pitcher in New York: Phil Hughes or Mike Pelfrey?”
The dynamic righties will get on the mound to face each other for the second time this season tomorrow. But before they could again begin to settle matters at 60 feet, 6 inches, The Post asked 12 baseball men from both leagues: If you could have Pelfrey, who turned 26 in January, or Hughes, who turns 24 next Thursday, for the next five years whom would you take?
I am not surprised much any longer in this business, but I was surprised by the results. Though there was a lot of talking about wanting to figure out a way to have both, all 12 respondents, when pushed to go one way or the other, took Hughes. That’s right 12-0, though only one respondent — an AL front office official — thought it was a no-brainer.
“It’s Hughes because of the quality of the division he is succeeding in and his superior strikeout-to-walk ratio,” the AL exec said, “and it isn’t all that close for me either.”
The most common reasons why the panel picked Hughes were: 1) age discrepancy. “I still think he has a lot of room to grow,” an NL scout said.
2) Succeeding in the AL East. As an AL scout said, “Even though it was out of the bullpen, he was a difference maker on a championship team last year and Pelfrey has not shown he can handle that yet.”
3) Better command, or as an AL assistant GM said, “While Pelfrey has demonstrated more durability, better fastball velocity and sink, I like Hughes’ package of age, delivery and assortment of pitches. With the deception of his fastball and quality of his secondary stuff, I think he will just keep missing more bats than Pelfrey.”
4) Better secondary stuff. “Hughes is my preference because I trust his breaking ball more,” an NL personnel man said. “He has more power to his stuff and more ways to get you out. Pelfrey’s added split has given him a pitch to miss the bat and he seems more aggressive. The Mets have done a real good job with him. But give me Hughes’ fastball/curve combo.”
5) Better intangibles, or as an NL scout said, “Pelfrey has taken a huge step forward with that split-change, and by not worrying about velocity as much as location. But the [Pelfrey] has all the makings of a No. 2 starter on a champion.”
Whatever the poll results, Pelfrey is leading 1-0 where it counts most: In their start against each other on May 22 at Citi Field, Hughes suffered his only loss in allowing four runs in 52⁄3 innings. Meanwhile, Pelfrey held the Yanks to one run in six innings and left with many admirers.
“[Pelfrey] used to be 80 percent hard, 20 percent soft. Now it is 60-40 with full command,” Alex Rodriguez said.
And hitting coach Kevin Long said, “He’s just turned himself into an upper-echelon pitcher.”
Both will take the mound at 9-1 — Pelfrey with a 2.39 ERA and Hughes with a 3.11 ERA. Hughes also is in the AL top 10 in batting average against (.225) and strikeouts per nine innings (8.8). But, unlike Pelfrey, Hughes has yet to demonstrate he can be a 200-inning horse, and he won’t do that this year, considering the Yanks’ strict guidelines.
Either way with the refinement of their repertoire — the split for Pelfrey and greater command of the cutter for Hughes — they look as if they will continue this Subway debate for many years.
“We are both proud to have our guy,” A-Rod said. “New York has two of the best young pitchers in baseball.”