Tanaka Struggles in 2015 Debut

Yankees fans should feel a little uncomfortable after Masahiro Tanaka's opening day start against the Toronto Blue Jays.  Tanaka got off to a great start after two innings, but struggled at times throughout the day.

Tanaka's day started off strong as he struck out three of the first six batters he faced.  The velocity seemed to be up, even though he was throwing a considerable amount of off-speed pitches.  His curveball and sinker baffled hitters early; in most cases throwing only off-speed pitches to batters.

To his credit, Tanaka didn't get much help behind him.  Chase Headley had to consecutive misplays resulting in one error and allowing runners on base.

The most concerning note about Tanaka's day was his sudden drop in velocity.  In Tanaka's first two innings, he threw a total of four fastballs, topping out at 93mph.  In the third inning, when Tanaka really struggled, his fastball topped out at 89mph, a considerable drop in one inning.

Joe Girardi left Tanaka in for 82 pitches in his first start of 2015.  He gave up 5 runs (4 earned) on 5 hits, 6 strikeouts, and walked a pair of Blue Jays in just 4 innings.

Tanaka is notorious for not allowing runners on base via walks.  Last season he had a 7-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio, thus showing that Tanaka definitely was pitching a different way than he was accustomed to in the past.

Tanaka did go away from his fastball which really leaves the Yankees with question mark about his health should he continue to pitch.  We already know he didn't have a great fastball to begin with, but the fact that he looked afraid to go to the fastball opened some eyes.  In order to Tanaka to be effective, he needs to be able to throw his entire arsenal of pitches.  Last season his fastball was a bit of a table setting pitch for his curveball and splitter.

Tanaka's next start will be against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday April 12th.