One of the biggest question marks going into the season was Masahiro Tanaka.  Nobody could predict whether or not he would be posted, but when he was, it was the Yankees who emerged with the big contract for the Japanese superstar.

Now we are two starts into the season and Tanaka has been as good as advertised.  In terms of strikeouts Tanaka has actually been better than advertised.  Tanaka was never a strikeout per inning pitcher in Japan, but through fourteen innings Tanaka has accumulated eighteen strikeouts.  Tanaka’s control has been fantastic as well as he has only issued one walk.

If there is one knock on Tanaka it’s that he has been vulnerable in the beginning of games particularly to the long ball.  On pitches number one through fifty batters are 10/26 for a .385 batting average one walk and eight strikeouts.  On pitches 50 to 100 batters are 3/28 for a .107 batting average no walks and ten strikeouts.  In Tanaka’s first start Melky Cabrera connected for a leadoff homerun which accounted for one of the two runs Tanaka gave up that night.  In his second start Tanaka served up a three run homerun to Jonathan Schoop in the second inning, which accounted for all the runs he gave up in that game.  It's only a matter of time before Tanaka realizes the high fastball is a dangerous place to pitch in the MLb and it needs to be used as a strikeout pitch only.  Once this adjustment is made Tanaka will begin throwing quality starts that consist of not giving up the long ball.

Tanaka was exceptional at keeping the ball in the ballpark in Japan thanks to his sinker and exceptional splitter.  If he can fix these early inning woes, there’s no doubt that he can prove to be a legitimate ace this year.

Tanaka has faced two American League East rivals to start the year, both of whom have powerful offenses.  The fact that he has gone seven innings in both starts and has only given up five runs means Tanaka should have plenty of good starts this year especially when he finally gets to pitch against a weaker offense.  Tanaka also has that first Yankee Stadium start out of the way against the Orioles which was a quality start so owners need not to worry about his abilities to pitch at home.

I think we are seeing the beginning of a true ace for the Yankees.  You should have no fears about using Tanaka against any lineup.  When Tanaka starts keeping the ball in the ballpark he is going to be very difficult to score on.  Expect about the same if not slightly better starts from here on out from Tanaka, but be aware he isn’t likely to keep his strikeout rate this high as he was never a true strikeout pitcher in Japan despite improving in that category the last couple of years.