With less than one week to go before the 2014 season is officially underway, skipper Joe Girardi finally gave Yankee fans some long anticipated good news - the 25 year old right handed Michael Pineda will open the season as the teams no. five starter.
So what does this mean? Quite a few things actually.
1. The Yankees rotation is adding more fire power.
At ages 33 and 39, it's no secret that C.C Sabathia and Hiroki Kuroda no longer have a ton of velocity on their fastballs, and after following much of spring training, I've learned that the $155 Million dollar man Masahiro Tanaka has a ton of assets, but velocity on his fastball just isn't one of them either.
Michael Pineda on the other hand is equipped with an electric arm that can throw darts. Though he's not quite at the same velocity he was with the Seattle Mariners before the Yankees acquired him in 2012, Pineda has topped out this spring at 94-95mph, and seems to be getting stronger and stronger with every start. In a perfect world, Pineda's velocity will once again reach the upper 90's, but in all honesty I don't this he needs it to be successful. His slider has been absolutely nasty all spring and he's had no trouble putting batters away.
2. The Yankees win the 2012 blockbuster trade, finally... for now.
Call me naive, call me enraged, call me whatever you want, but ever since Pineda wen't down with a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder at the start of the 2012 season I've been convinced that Jack Zduriencik and the Seattle Mariners were fully aware of Pineda's failing arm before trading him to the New York Yankees. Why else would they part ways with baseball's number one overall prospect in exchange for the Yankees top prospect Jesus Montero and stick the left handed batter in a pitchers ball park? Why else would they deal their top pitching prospect in a time when they didn't know if they would be able to extend King Felix? I can go on and on with this rant but i'll stop myself here.
Some may argue that it's still to early to judge the Pineda-Montero deal, but the point is entering the 2014 season, the Bronx Bombers seem to be winning. Let's not jinx anything, but Pineda figures to contribute much more to the Yankees than his counterpart in Seattle, especially since Montero showed up to camp 40lbs over weight fresh off his 50 game Biogenesis suspension... karma?
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| Jesus Montero at the start of Seattle's Spring Training |
3. Better Bullpen
It's a simple formula. Michael Pineda in the Yankees Rotation = A much better bullpen for the New York Yankees. Even though the nifty David Phelps is just as much a candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation as Michael Pineda, I think that Phelps is better suited out of the bullpen. Phelps' finesse style as opposed to Pineda's hard throwing style makes Phelps a better option to change hitters eye levels out of the bullpen and get the Yankees out of clutch jams in the late innings of a ball game. Also, Phelps' past experiences as a Yankees starter will allow to the Yankees to utilize him as a long reliever in the event that any of the five Yankee starters get into a jam early on in a ball game.
I don't know about any one else, but I'm extremely excited to see Pineda pitch. Even though he'll probably be on an innings limit for his first full season in the boogie down Bronx, I believe he can contribute greatly to the New York Yankees and my fantasy baseball team... haha. The sky is the limit for Pineda and it's great to see him back on track.
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