A Closer Look at the Yankees new 'HIRO'

As the MikesHardKnocks audience as well as a majority of my close friends know, I've been following the Masahiro Tanaka posting saga ever since I laid eyes on the hurler in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. To say that I'm ecstatic that he chose to sign with the New York Yankees would be a complete understatement. Despite not having thrown a pitch in the MLB just yet, his upside and his youth make him a tremendous asset and if all pans out he'll fill a huge void in the Yankees starting rotation.

Before all the baseball critics and fans outside of New York bash the Yankees and their 'Evil Empire' for signing Tanaka to a sever year $155MM dollar deal, here is a closer look at the 25 year old right hander.

Aside from the usual 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last year for the Rakuten Golden Eagles that's been repeatedly drilled into the heads of baseball analysts and fans across America, I'm here to dissect and better analyze the mechanics of the future No. 2 starter for the New York Yankees.

So, what kind of pitcher is Masahiro Tanaka?

Well... most scouts and beat reporters made it clear that he is certainly no Yu Darvish, but the 6'2" 205 lb, build of Masahiro Tanaka makes him out to look much more like Iwakuma of the Seattle Mariners. He has an interesting wind-up that includes the vintage Japanese hesitation before his full wind-up and his delivery nearly features the same wrap of the ball technique at the end of his delivery like that of Tommy Hanson's. Also from what I've seen over the years, Tanaka has no problem hiding the ball well behind his delivery. His Japanese statistics show that he's not prone to giving up many hits, and for the Yankees sake, let's hope that translates to his future MLB statistics. 

Now it's on to the fun stuff...

In my opinion, the advantage Tanaka has over Yu Darvish is his full arsenal of pitches, which is featured below:

Four Seam Fastball: 91-95mph, although it may look a bit straight sometimes, Tanaka can command almost any part of the plate and challenge batters up in the zone with near pin point accuracy.

Splitter: 83-86mph, with electrifying downward bite and the ability to hit both sides of the dish. Most Japanese pitchers like Kuroda and Iwakuma made a living off their splitter, but it's not even Tanaka's best pitch.

Slider: 83-86mph, a unique put-away pitch that Tanaka can use against all right handed batters. If I had to choose one person who has a similar slider to Tanaka it's Zach Greinke... and that's nasty. 

Curveball: I've seen Tanaka deliver some big hooks in the 70-72mph range but their not quite 12-6 ability just yet. Non the less his curveball is a set up pitch that changes the eyes of batters between his fastball up in the zone and splitter low in the zone.  

Cutter: Tanaka's cutter sits in the upper eighties and isn't his best pitch per se. As a matter of fact, Tanaka's cut fastball was his least effective pitch in 2013, but what most seem to overlook is the impact that Mariano Rivera will have on all Yankee pitchers going forward. Since Tanaka already has the mechanics and ability to throw a cut fastball, there is no telling where a few lessons from the great Mo' will take Tanaka's cutter.

I think the biggest optical Tanaka will face stateside is controlling the command of his fastball. In the Pacific League in Japan you don't see power hitting sluggers on a consistent basis like you do here, especially in the A.L.East, so it's always been easier for Tanaka to challenge hitters with his fastball when he was behind in pitch counts. It'll be an interesting adjustment, but I have the utmost confidence in the right hander.

Call me crazy, but my predictions have Tanaka in the top 20 pitchers of the MLB this season. 

I cannot wait to see him in action come spring training.