Baltimore Orioles: Room to Improve in AL East Starting Pitching Rankings
By Nate Wardle
4. New York Yankees – Michael Pineda, Masahiro Tanaka, C.C. Sabathia, Nathan Eovaldi, Ivan Nova, Luis Severino
Preseason prediction – 2nd, Tanaka, Pineda, Severino, Eovaldi, Sabathia, Nova, Bryan Mitchell, Anthony Swarzak
It was a bit of a remarkable year for the men in pinstripes. The numbers are not terrible, but it is more about how they got there that is surprising.
The team allowed 4.33 runs per game, well below the league average of 4.47. The team’s starters went 48-59 in decisions, not a great number. The Yankees also had a 43 percent quality start percentage, tied with Baltimore Orioles and below the league average of 47 percent. The Yanks’ pitchers averaged 5.7 innings pitched per game started, right on the league average.
Masahiro Tanaka was great when he was healthy, finishing 14-4 with a 3.07 ERA. Eovaldi took a huge step back from 2015, and Ivan Nova continued to be, well, Ivan Nova. Michael Pineda had his moments but finished 6-12 with a 4.82 ERA, which isn’t good for the guy with the most starts on the team.
The big surprise, however, was Luis Severino. I expected the youngster to succeed in his second season, but he did not, struggling early, being demoted and then sent to the bullpen, wrapping up with a 5.83 ERA and a 3-8 record. I said in my prediction that if the starting rotation goes nothing from Severino, they would be in trouble. In a way, that was correct.
The ability to get to the sixth inning and know what was coming in the bullpen was a huge help to the Yankees’ rotation, a benefit they lost down the stretch. The question is whether they will get that advantage back in 2017.