Perhaps the biggest story this off season was where Masahiro Tanaka was going to sign.  Well the Japanese superstar decided that team would be the New York Yankees.  

At first glance this seems like a terrible place for an unknown pitcher to pitch due to the fact that it’s easy to give up homeruns at Yankees stadium and the AL East is a division stacked with high powered offenses.  Fortunately for Tanaka he is a groundball pitcher, with a nasty splitter who attacks the strike zone and keeps hitters in the ballpark.  

Tanaka features a handful of pitches in his arsenal that should help him to be successful in the major leagues. He throws a fastball, cutter, slider, splitter, and a curveball.  His best pitch is his splitter which is already regarded as one of the best in the game.  The splitter is his best swing and miss pitch as well as being a serious groundball inducer which should help lead to success at Yankee Stadium where it’s key to keep the ball on the ground.      

Tanaka also throws a fastball that is generally around 93mph, but he has the capability of getting up to 97 when he needs the strikeout.  To compliment the fastball is also his slider which when it’s on is hard to pickup the difference between his slider.  This consistent release point and above average break on his pitches is going to lead to a lot of deception for the batters and should lead to a lot of feeble swings.

Besides having three above average pitches (splitter, slider, fastball) Tanaka has impeccable control and had an unbelievable .943 WHIP.  Even though Tanaka is not a strikeout pitcher he still struck out nearly six batters for every one walk, which just speaks to his ability to pound the strike zone.

The hardest thing for fantasy owners is going to be to figure out where to draft this highly unknown yet intriguing pitcher.  A lot of people seem to be taking a chance on him in the first ten rounds of the draft.  I don’t know that I would risk that high of a pick on him, however if you think he has ace potential than go for the grab because he won’t be around much longer after round 10  

Overall Tanaka has the tools to be a successful pitcher in the majors you just need to be ready for the learning curve that is sure to follow from switching from the Japanese league to the MLB.  Even Darvish had his struggles in his first season posting a 3.90 ERA before coming up just short of the CY Young award in his second season.  In dynasty leagues Tanaka may be worth that pick within the first ten rounds, but for his first season you should temper your expectations.

2014 fantasy Projections: 3.80ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 160 strikeouts, 16 wins