New York Yankees: Is Michael Pineda turning the corner?

Michael Pineda has confounded the New York Yankees with both brilliance and ineptitude since joining the team. But is there reason to believe he’s finally hitting his stride?

Michael Pineda has been the definition of an enigma since being traded to the New York Yankees in January 2012. First, it was difficult to even get him on the mound, as recovery from a torn labrum in his right shoulder wiped out his entire 2012 season and most of 2013, save for some minor league starts. Pineda finally made his debut for the Yanks at the beginning of the 2014 campaign.

Since then, the big right-hander has alternated between periods of dominance and stretches where he seems unable to get anyone out. This season had featured mostly the latter, as Pineda owned an ugly 6.92 ERA entering the month of June. Fortunately, he appears to have rediscovered some level of effectiveness during the present month.

In five June outings, Pineda has posted a 3.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 7.40 K/BB ratio. Over 30 those innings, he has struck out 37 (11.1 K/9) and walked only five (1.5 BB/9). He put an exclamation point on the month during Saturday’s start against the Minnesota Twins, limiting his opponents to one run (a solo homer by Brian Dozier) on two hits in six frames, while racking up eight strikeouts to just one walk.

It was the kind of start that Yankees fans are used to seeing when Pineda is on his game: a lot of strikeouts, and very few walks. Regrettably, that doesn’t always translate into success for him. Pineda’s tenure in New York has been a perpetual battle to unlock his potential and get the best out of him more consistently.

A great example is Pineda’s start against the Orioles on May 10 of last year. He fanned 16 (two shy of Ron Guidry‘s Yankees record) in seven innings with no walks and only one run allowed. The headline following the outing was clear: Michael Pineda had finally arrived. But whenever you expect him to move one way, he always seems to head in another. In the 20 outings following that start through the end of the season, Pineda put up a disappointing 5.04 ERA.

What has worked well for Pineda recently? And more importantly, can he sustain it? According to Pineda, he has tried to feature his changeup more over his slider. After yesterday’s game, he explained:

"“That helped me a lot, because my last start was versus this team. I threw a lot of sliders. Today, they were looking for my slider. So I threw more changeups today, and they helped me pitch better.”"

Pineda faced the same Twins on June 18 and fared considerably worse, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits in 5.1 innings. Although, as usual, even when he struggles he manages to maintain a stellar K-to-BB ratio, striking out nine while handing out zero free passes.

Those who have observed Pineda know that in spite of how great his stuff can be, he often has difficulty putting hitters away with an effective out-pitch. When his slider is left hanging up in the strike zone, it tends to get hit hard – usually out of the ballpark. Pineda surrendered 1.2 home runs per nine innings last year, and that rate has climbed to 1.5 so far this season. Last year’s 14.7 percent HR/FB (home run to fly ball) ratio has also risen to 17.1 percent.

More from Call to the Pen

The Yankees have already seen one of their pitchers reinvent his repertoire to positive effect, although the 27-year-old Pineda certainly isn’t at the same stage of his career as CC Sabathia. Still, mixing up your pitch selection to keep hitters off balance can be a helpful strategy for any hurler, especially one like Pineda who has seen his primary pitch bullied this year (.361 BAA his fastball, as per Fangraphs).

Saturday’s start could be a good template for Pineda to follow moving forward, although it’s worth keeping in mind that the Twins have anything but a fearsome offense. Nevertheless, there is reason to think Pineda could be in for some better days ahead, such as his opponents’ elevated .359 BABIP.

Pineda hasn’t blossomed into the frontline starter the Yankees thought he would be after acquiring him from the Mariners following an All-Star rookie season. (Fortunately for them, Jesus Montero hasn’t become a world-class slugger either.) While the past month has been encouraging, fans can’t help but feel they have seen this movie before. Whenever Pineda has seemed to turn a corner in the past, his erratic nature tends to rear its ugly head. He’s been about a 4.00 ERA pitcher since joining the Yankees, and that might not be too far off from what he’ll be long-term.

Next: The Reinvention of CC Sabathia

With free agency approaching after the 2017 season, the Yanks will be watching Pineda closely to determine whether they want him to remain a part of their pitching staff. If he can keep up his recent form, he could certainly sway them in his favor.

Home/New York Yankees