New York Yankees Editorial: What To Expect from Michael Pineda in 2016

At the start of the 2015 season Michael Pineda looked like the real deal. On May 10th he was 5-0 with a 2.72 ERA through his first seven starts, including a 16 strikeout performance against the Baltimore Orioles. He looked like the true ace the Yankees needed and some even thought he would be in the running for the American League Cy Young Award.

At the time, the Yankees $155 million investment Masahiro Tanaka was sidelined with another injury, and despite not pitching a full season since 2011, Michael Pineda looked like the best pitcher in the American League East. Six weeks into the season he sported an incredible 54:3 strikeout to walk ratio.

Though he eventually went on to lead the majors in strikeout to walk ratio through the end of the season, that May 10th start against Baltimore seemed to be the pinnacle of his 2015 season – and it was all down hill from there.

Pineda seemed to digress one start after another, and by seasons end, he was so fatigued that he failed to pitch deeper than 6.0 innings in any ball game from July 10th on.

Sure he spent a month on the DL with a forearm strain in July, but Pineda still finished out the season at 12-10 with a 4.37 ERA thanks to a terrible stretch in which went 4-5 and recorded a 5.31 ERA through the final three months of the season.

So what can we realistically expect from the 26-year old pitcher who will be 27 on opening day in 2016?

According to Ryan Hatch of NJ.com, skipper Joe Girardi expects Pineda to be better, especially because despite his month-long DL stint, he pitched a total of 160.2 innings, which is the most he’s thrown in a single season since undergoing major shoulder surgery in 2012.

Being the optimist that I am, I would have to agree with Girardi. In 2015, Pineda showed a good array of pitches, relying primarily on his cutter (93 mph) and Slider (86 mph) while also mixing in a change-up (89 mph). His fastball averaged 92.8 mph, but one pitch he rarely used was his sinker (92 mph).

According to Brooks Baseball, ‘Big Mike’s’ cutter in 2015 was thrown at a speed that’s borderline unfair with good rise and little cutting action. His slider generated a high percentage of ground balls while his sinker, which was only used four times in 2015, never really got ant hitters to bite.

Still, when all was said and done, Pineda still managed to finished in the top 20 in the American League in strikeouts with 156 and second-best in walks after issuing just 21.

If Michael Pineda wants to fulfill Giardi’s expectations and be better in 2016, he’ll have to work on certain things in the off-season.

For starters, he needs to work on his control. His pitch count, especially early on in games needs to be reduced. Second, he needs to limit the amount of home runs allowed, which was an uncomfortably high 21 in 2015. And last but not least, he needs to work on his body language. When Pineda surrenders early runs, he’s notorious for displaying poor body language from the mound, which raises questions about his maturity level.

If he can fix these three things, Michael Pineda will certainly be better in 2016. Will he be an ace? Probably not, but he has the potential to slot in as a number two behind Luis Severino or Masahiro Tanaka. If not, he may very while find himself in the back of the rotation.

New York Yankees Editorial: What To Expect from Michael Pineda in 2016

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