Yankees Midseason Report Cards: Starting Rotation

2 of 6

Jun 29, 2016; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (19) delivers a pitch against the Texas Rangers in the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports /

First up, Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka

You can easily make the case that Masahiro Tanaka is one of the top five starters in the American League this season. He ranks fourth among qualified AL starting pitchers with 2.7 fWAR through his first 16 starts. While he doesn’t strike out as many batters as he did when he made his debut stateside, he has found other ways to be successful.

Tanaka has the second lowest walk rate in the league at 1.63 BB/9 and has reinvented himself as a groundball pitcher, posting a career high 51.1% walk rate, good for ninth among AL starters. He has also seemingly addressed the longball issues that have plagued him in the past, limiting opposing hitters to 0.77 HR/9 in the first half.

The Yankees appear to be confident that Tanaka’s elbow troubles are behind him. He regularly starts on normal rest, throws well over 100 pitches routinely, and is on pace to top 200 innings for the first time in MLB.

While there continues to be a mystifying sense among Yankees fans that Tanaka is underperforming and not a “true ace” (whatever that means), he has been routinely excellent in the first half of 2016. He’s the one source of stability in a starting rotation that has been wracked with injuries and inconsistency.

2016 Midseason Grade: A

Next: The New CC

Home/Yankees News