MLB Opening Day 2015: Five frank observations

1. Tanaka is in trouble

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

With that, so too might the New York Yankees be if Masahiro Tanaka is to be their ace in 2015. After partially tearing his UCL in 2014, Tanaka elected to rehab it and not undergo surgery. The result will undoubtedly be one of two outcomes: He under performs in 2015, or he eventually goes under the knife for the corrective procedure.

Tanaka looked like one of the best arms the AL had to offer until his setback last season. Last year in his first start of the season, he pitched seven innings allowing two earned runs and striking out eight in a win versus the Blue Jays. According to FanGraphs, his fastball averaged 91.1 mph last season and he threw it 25 percent of the time.

On Monday against the Jays again in his first start of the season, Tanaka was knocked around in front of a home crowd. He already admitted that a drop in velocity will be something he has to deal with in 2015. But without an effective fastball, batters will be much more obliged to lay off his deadly split-fingered fastball that often drops out of the strike zone.

The Jays caused Tanaka to exit the game after only four innings and a laborious 82 pitches on Opening Day. He allowed five runs (four earned), gave up a home run and walked two. The Jays eventually won the ball game 6-1.

Most concerning was that Tanaka offered his fastball only six times out of 82 pitches, or seven percent of the time. At an average of 90.9 mph, that’s not an encouraging sign for a pitcher with a fresh arm in his first outing of the season. Jays players hit a perfect 1.000 off his fastball in that game, showing why he was quick to abandon a reliance on it.

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