On Tuesday, Michael Pineda was announced as the Yankees fifth starter, backing a rotation also formed by CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova and Masahiro Tanaka. David Phelps will be in the bullpen as a swingman (and also apparently because his last name doesn’t end in the letter A). This is not a surprising development, as Pineda has had himself a fantastic spring to the tune of a 1.20 ERA, 1.0 WHIP and a 16.0 strikeout to walk ratio. While yes, this is Spring Training, where the opposing lineups aren’t always major-league quality, BaseballReference rates the quality of the lineups Pineda’s faced at a 9.1 mark, right between AAA and Major League quality.
These are all excellent signs pointing towards Pineda at least starting the year strongly. Yet Pineda hasn’t pitched a full season of Major League ball since 2011 with the Mariners. Can he stand up to the rigors of a full season? What about the rest of the rotation? Can they keep up with the Yankee offense?
The answer to that question is a resounding “yes,” and then some. The Yankees may quietly have one of the best pitching staffs in the American League, and I believe they will support my prior claim that they will vault themselves back into the playoffs.
Doubters are quick to point out the decline of Sabathia and old age of Kuroda, and rightfully so. They also say that Tanaka is nothing more than a strong number two starter, perhaps also rightfully so. However, they are the top two starters on this staff only in name. I’ve already covered Pineda, so let me introduce you to Ivan Nova.
Nova has found himself the proud owner of one of the filthiest curveballs this side of Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright (below). He can use it to hit spots, make hitters look silly and get out of innings. Nova used to be prone to meltdown innings where he would lose all control, but that seems to have changed. He’s become incredibly more confident since returning from the minor leagues last season, and while he can still be somewhat erratic at times he’s a completely new pitcher.
Little more needs to be said about shiny new import Masahiro Tanaka. We’ve all seen the devastating splitter (below), and heard about the 24-0 record in Nippon Professional Baseball last year. But there’s more to Tanaka than the splitter and the outstanding win total. Tanaka seems to be an effective combination of power and finesse, opening with a fastball that averages about 95 MPH (per Brooks Baseball) that he can throw in the zone with precision fairly often before throwing a splitter in the dirt (around an 87 MPH average, Brooks) that looked like one of the best out pitches in all of spring baseball.
(via pitchergifs.com)
If Pineda and Nova can keep pitching well along with Tanaka, the Yankees suddenly have a rotation where a former Cy Young winner (Sabathia) is the weak spot. Sabathia may have lost velocity, but he’s still a very smart pitcher and pitched to a 1.54 ERA in spring with a 9.4 opponent quality. If Sabathia or Kuroda should get hurt, the Yankees are not at a loss for starter substitutions. David Phelps has shown himself to be a spectacular swingman over the past few seasons, pitching effectively over the last few seasons both out of the pen and in the rotation. He has better numbers in relief, where he’ll begin the season, but doesn’t have any qualms about being thrown out of the frying pan and into the fire as a starter. Also in the same mold is Adam Warren. Warren definitely is better suited to relief at this juncture but saw most of his time as a starter in the minors. Perhaps most intriguing of all is Vidal Nuno. Nuno barely saw any major league time last year, and he doesn’t throw particularly hard. However, he shows a Bartolo Colon-esque ability to hit spots exceptionally well, mystifying an Orioles lineup recently that featured largely major league regulars (and let it be noted that the Baltimore offense is widely regarded as one of the best in the league). I’m personally a big fan of his slider (below). If pressed into starting duty, Nuno could be a very interesting sleeper candidate.
It’s said that starting pitching wins titles, and the Yankees have it in spades. While they certainly don’t have the quality of pitching that the Detroit Tigers or Washington Nationals can lay claim to, the Yankees starting staff has what it takes to hang with the big dogs of the AL East. If they can solidify their relief core, and it’s entirely possible that will be their focus at the trade deadline barring a major injury, the Yankees will find themselves playing in October.
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