The First Annual Just How Good Is Masahiro Tanaka? Thread

[jon abbey]

MLB network has anointed him as the best starter in the AL. His stats certainly support that conclusion.

 
I don't know if I'd go quite that far, I'd still rather have Scherzer or Darvish or maybe a few others. He has been fantastic so far, though, hard for anyone to argue that too much.
 
Tanaka's splits are interesting: he destroys LHB (.525 OPS) despite being a RHP, while RHB do decidedly better against him so far (.685 OPS). 

 

[Year of Yaz]

I don't know if I'd go quite that far, I'd still rather have Scherzer or Darvish or maybe a few others. He has been fantastic so far, though, hard for anyone to argue that too much.
 
Tanaka's splits are interesting: he destroys LHB (.525 OPS) despite being a RHP, while RHB do decidedly better against him so far (.685 OPS).

His splitter has a little fade to it that makes it more effective against lefthanders.

 

[soxhop411]

I wonder if teams will be able to hit Tanaka better when they face him for a second time. Cubs got 8 hits and 4 runs off him today. Which is a lot better then the first time they faced him in Yankee stadium.

 

[jon abbey]

Tied for the AL lead in WHIP at 0.98, no HRs allowed in his last four starts.

 

[orphan]

Tied for the AL lead in WHIP at 0.98, no HRs allowed in his last four starts.

 
Also 3rd on the CY Predictor, behind Buehrle and Scherzer. 
 
Edit: link
 
http://espn.go.com/mlb/features/cyyoung

 

[jon abbey]

Leading the AL in ERA (2.02) and WHIP (0.94), he continues to be a savior for NY. He hasn't seen almost any teams more than once yet, which presumably will start to change soon, but also I think he's got plenty we have yet to see also in response. Last night after Cano HRd in the 9th to cut it to 4-2, he got visibly pissed and threw 2 of his fastest 3 pitches of the night (100+ pitches in), a couple of 95s, and Kd Seager and Morrison to end it. 
 

 

[fren123]

I think #3 is his ceiling.

 
How the fuck?

 

[Sprowl]

Tanaka's offspeed pitches are very good, but he can't (or maybe he won't) throw them all the time. Napoli followed Mookie's advice on how to handle the splitter: hit the heater. Against the Red Sox, Tanaka pitched backwards: he threw 35 sliders, 32 splitters, 24 fastballs, 13 sinkers, 9 curves and 3 cutters. He refuses to throw inside -- this chart flips LHB results, so that all pitches show location as if thrown to RHB (from the catcher's perspective). Eventually that might become predictable.
 

 

[barbed wire Bob]

Tanaka's offspeed pitches are very good, but he can't (or maybe he won't) throw them all the time. Napoli followed Mookie's advice on how to handle the splitter: hit the heater. Against the Red Sox, Tanaka pitched backwards: he threw 35 sliders, 32 splitters, 24 fastballs, 13 sinkers, 9 curves and 3 cutters. He refuses to throw inside -- this chart flips LHB results, so that all pitches show location as if thrown to RHB (from the catcher's perspective). Eventually that might become predictable.
 

Is there any stated reason why he refuses to throw inside?

 

[EvilEmpire]

Tanaka's offspeed pitches are very good, but he can't (or maybe he won't) throw them all the time. Napoli followed Mookie's advice on how to handle the splitter: hit the heater. Against the Red Sox, Tanaka pitched backwards: he threw 35 sliders, 32 splitters, 24 fastballs, 13 sinkers, 9 curves and 3 cutters. He refuses to throw inside -- this chart flips LHB results, so that all pitches show location as if thrown to RHB (from the catcher's perspective). Eventually that might become predictable.
 

 
I wouldn't read too much into it at this point.  He hasn't had to pitch inside so far, but that doesn't mean he can't or won't in the future.  I'd mark it down to not straying from what is currently successful.  We'll have a better sense of how he adjusts when/if he starts getting bad results. 

 

[terrynever]

The ProJo game story today said Napoli muttered the word "idiot" when accepting congrats after his homer. He thought Tanaka was a fool to throw him a fastball when he was having so much trouble with the split.