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Yankees’ News: Michael Pineda’s Potential In 2015

By Tyler Angelo

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Remember the show Michael Pineda put on in 2011 when he came screaming on to the scene with the Seattle Mariners? According to baseball-reference.com his first half of 8-5 with a 2.58 ERA was enough to get him an All-Star appearance in his first season.

He would go on to finish fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting and demonstrate what he is capable of with growth and time. Pineda’s show case convinced the New York Yankees he was the real deal and, in doing so, they were willing to move their top prospect Jesus Montero for him.

The trade has been a wash this far. Pineda has been hampered by a right shoulder injury that has kept him from being the pitcher every one hoped he would grow into. He tore his labrum in the 2012 Spring Training with the Yankees and it has hurt his durability ever since.

The same shoulder flared up in 2014 and kept Pineda out for four months. He did have a good 2014 when he was present and showed how effective his stuff can be. The problem was between the shoulder set back and a pine tar suspension, he only pitched 76.1 innings. That is almost 100 innings less than what he threw in 2011!

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The 26-year old looks to be healthy for the whole 2015 season and at this point he has to prove he is capable of that. Erik Boland of Newsday quoted Larry Rothschild in his article. Rothschild said, ““I can say what I think, but it doesn’t matter. He’s going to have to prove it no matter what I say. If he picks up where he left off last year, then we’ll obviously be really happy with that.”

Pineda is persistent that he can stay healthy and do more this season. “I want to throw 200 innings,” Pineda said regarding his expectations for 2015. He is setting the bar high but it might not be the worst thing. The optimism has been contagious in camp so far and the latest victim is Pineda.

As fans we can only hope that we see the 2011 version of Pineda will show up for 200+ innings in 2015. The Yankees sure could use a reliable pitcher with dominant stuff. They have numerous concerns with Masahiro Tanaka‘s elbow, CC Sabathia‘s knee, Ivan Nova‘s elbow, and the question of who will be in the rotation.

They have signed multiple people for depth in an attempt to alleviate the pressure off each player. It remains to be seen if Pineda can stay healthy and presume a leadership role.

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