A few minutes ago, I read a piece on River Ave Blues (my
favorite Yankees blog) about the fact that the Yankees have an abundance of
upper level hitters (did I just say that?), but are lacking in the pitching
department. Then, news broke that Nathan Eovaldi needs about 12 elbow
surgeries.
Well, the Yankees do have a young starter – just 27 – with
top of the rotation stuff. The only problem is that he’s wildly inconsistent
and constantly frustrating. He is one of the those pitchers than can strike out
10 men in five innings, yet give up 9 hits and 6 runs – all with two outs. It’s
no secret his inconsistency has frustrated Yankee coaches. He has been on the
cusp of taking it to the next level, but just levels off or goes backwards, for
whatever reason. I’m not sure if he is lazy, lacks confidence, doesn’t work
hard, or what. Maybe that’s not fair. Maybe it’s none of those things. I don’t
know. All I know is there is a good pitcher in there with ugly stats.
The good news is, he’s under control for another season,
which is really helpful given Eovaldi’s injury and a thin starting pitching
market. The fact of the matter is, there aren’t many better options than
Pineda. Maybe Chad Green and/or Luis Cessa will eventually replace him in the
rotation, but with question marks around Luis Severino and the lack of upper
level pitching prospects, Pineda is going to get the change to keep going out
there every five days.
I started collecting Pineda after the 2012 trade, and really
accumulated a lot of his cards while he was injured for two years. I can’t say
I hound his cards like I do Tino or Ty Hensley, but I will always take Pinedas
I don’t have, and will always pounce on a good deal. Here is autograph #13 that
I own, as well as unique Pineda #141.
Very cool autograph. Pineda's consistency has been a work in progress for a while (I remember reports saying so back when he was still in SEA). If nothing else he'd be one heck of a reclamation project for a team like the CWS or PIT.
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