After many seasons of dominating the Japanese professional baseball league, this offseason the New York Yankees seized the opportunity to sign the 25-year-old Masahiro Tanaka to a 7-year $155 million dollar contract.  Tanaka enters major league baseball coming off a 24-0 season in 2013 and with as much hype as any foreign baseball player in the history of the sport.

In his highly anticipated debut last Friday, Masahiro Tanaka made his first major league start against the Blue Jays, pitching 7 innings and allowing only 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and 0 walks against 8 strikeouts.  Tanaka threw 97 pitches, 65 for strikes, and generally overwhelmed the Blue Jay lineup with his splitter and sinking 2-seam fastball.

Wanting to see him for myself, I grabbed a cold beverage and sat back to analyze Tanaka’s first start in Yankee Stadium, and second career start, Wednesday evening against the Baltimore Orioles.

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Building off his excellent start in Toronto, Tanaka overcame some early scuffles to pitch 7 innings against Baltimore Wednesday, allowing 3 earned runs on 7 hits and 1 walk against 10 strikeouts.  Tanaka’s major blunder of the night was giving up a mammoth 3-run home run to rookie Jonathan Schoop in the 2^nd inning.  Otherwise, Tanaka needed only 101 total pitches against the 29 batters he faced, inducing 6 ground outs against only 2 fly ball outs.

Of these 101 pitches, Tanaka threw 71 strikes against 30 balls, while throwing 1^st pitch strikes to 16 of the 29 hitters he faced.  During this start, Tanaka was featuring both a 2-seam and 4-seam fastball, along with a slider, a split-finger, and the occasional curveball.  He threw 30 4-seam fastballs averaging 93.11mph and 23 sinkers with an average velocity of 92.33mph.  Tanaka also threw 21 sliders at 85.33mph, 21 splitters at 87.75mph, and only 6 curveballs averaging 73.62mph. (Thanks BrooksBaseball.net)

After watching this start, both Tanaka’s strengths and weaknesses as a young pitcher were quickly exposed.  Positively, Tanaka is extremely athletic and has plenty of deception in a unique delivery that he repeats fairly well.  Tanaka also has a quality sinker with movement down and in to right-handed hitters, along with an inconsistent but above-average slider.  But the true difference-maker for Tanaka is his devastating split-finger.  His incredible off-speed stuff helped induce 23 whiffs in this outing, along with many awkward swings from the hitters.

On the other hand, Tanaka struggles to command the strike zone with his fastball, in particular his 2-seamer, as the outstanding wiggle on the pitch often forces it outside the zone.  Tanaka was only able to throw 1^st pitch strikes to 16 of the 29 hitters he faced.  In addition, his 4-seam fastball is pretty straight and the batters consistently squared it up throughout the game.  When he was able to get ahead in the count, the hitters almost looked at the mercy of Tanaka and his breaking stuff; but when he got behind and had to throw a fastball, the Orioles hit the ball hard.

Overall I was quite impressed with what I saw from Tanaka in only his 2^nd major league start.  Although his contract numbers and Japanese statistics say otherwise, I do not believe Tanaka is a #1 Ace  starter, mostly due to his mediocre fastball command and his lack of top-end velocity.  Nevertheless, he possesses an above-average sinker and slider, one of the best split-fingers in baseball, and a deceptive, consistent delivery.  If he can throw better strikes with his 4-seam fastball and/or get ahead of hitters at a higher rate in the future, Tanaka looks like an outstanding #3 starter, who can pitch like a #2.  The Yankees took on quite a risk with this contract, but they can afford the gamble and in doing so, added a cornerstone starting pitcher to their rotation for the rest of this decade.

In addition to it being the first start in 2014 for Lucas Giolito, Saturday’s contest between the Rome Braves and Hagerstown Suns featured many other talented prospects.  Certainly none of these players have the potential (or notoriety) of Mr. Giolito, but I wanted to highlight several other exciting prospects in the Nationals and Braves organizations. 

Drew Ward                         3B           Hagerstown Suns

The Nationals 3^rd round selection last summer, Ward skipped his senior year in high school to be draft eligible in 2013, and has surprisingly earned a starting spot in Hagerstown to begin this season.  Ward possesses a mouth-watering physique and as I like to say, he certainly “looks the part” of a future major league player.

Offensively, Ward has a pretty, but long left-handed swing, which when combined with his large size, should give him well above-average future home run power.  He will need to cut down on his swing as he matures in order to hit more consistent velocity, but I was impressed that Ward seemed to have a plan at the plate and a mature approach as a hitter.  Considering his age and lack of experience, Ward was a more polished batter than I expected at this point in his career. 

At third base Ward looks like a raw teenager playing in the Sally League, as he was somewhat clumsy defensively and made a poor decision to force a throw rather than simply eating the baseball.  That said, he has a strong arm and looks agile (and athletic) enough to play the position, so it could be a matter of refining his footwork if he wishes to stay at the hot corner.  But make no mistake, Ward is a bat-first prospect and his professional future depends on his ability to make enough contact to allow his prodigious power to show up in games.  The Nationals drafted a quality prospect in Ward, and I would be surprised if he was not a consensus top-10 prospect in Washington’s organization at the end of this season. 

Other Suns Notes:

Isaac Ballou, a natural center fielder who plays left field in deference to talented defender Rafael Bautista, has a good arm, excellent athleticism, and noteworthy pure speed.  In addition Ballou flashed some serious bat speed and pop Saturday night hitting a no-doubt grand slam to right field.  Stolen in the 15^th round last summer as a senior from Marshall University, the Nationals have found an interesting late round gem in Ballou. 

Saturday was my first time watching Wilmer Difo, a 22-year-old second baseman the Nationals signed years ago out of the Dominican Republic.  A switch-hitting middle infielder with obvious speed, Difo is a prospect to watch in the Nationals organization. 

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Victor Caratini                   C             Rome Braves

The top prospect on Rome’s roster this season is likely Victor Caratini, Atlanta’s 2^nd round pick last summer and a former third baseman converting to catcher in 2014.  And right on cue, Caratini immediately made his presence felt, hitting a monster 2-run homer in the first inning, turning around a 94mph fastball from Lucas Giolito over the right-center field wall.  A switch-hitter, the 20-year-old Caratini impressed me with his approach at the plate and balance through his left-handed swing. 

Defensively Caratini understandably lags behind his offensive skills, as he has little experience as a catcher.  Caratini is agile behind the plate, with a solid arm and a quick release.  Not surprisingly, he remains raw as a receiver and needs refinement blocking pitches, but I was notably impressed with how soft his hands were catching the baseball.  The package is raw, but the tools are there for an average, or perhaps slightly better, defensive catcher with plenty of repetition.  I am interested to watch him play next year and see his overall progress as a two-way player.

Carlos Salazar                    RHP        Rome Braves

Saturday’s starter Carlos Salazar impressed me with his three-pitch mix consisting of a 90-93mph fastball, 79-80mph curveball, and a devilish 79-81mph changeup with impressive depth and sink.  Salazar struggled mightily with his command, walking 7 hitters in his 2 innings pitched, but showed glimpses of why the Braves selected him in the 3^rd round last summer.

A thickly built 19-year-old, Salazar does not have much physical projection remaining in his listed 6-0 200lbs. frame.  In addition, there is plenty of moving parts and effort involved in his pitching delivery, making him a probable fit as a reliever in the future.  Those negatives aside, Salazar has an impressive present fastball/changeup combination and could blossom under the Braves’ tutelage as so many other young pitchers have in recent years.  Salazar is a good name to remember and could rise up prospect lists in the future. 

After a long winter this year, I was excited to make the drive up I-70 Saturday night to scout Nationals uber-prospect Lucas Giolito, in his first start of 2014, as he and the rest of the Hagerstown Suns took on the Rome Braves.  Mother Nature did not give us the best baseball weather, as it was sub-50 degrees with a strong wind toward right field, but the opportunity to scout the supremely talented Giolito could not deter me from Hagerstown on Saturday. 

Lucas Giolito                                     RHP        Hagerstown Suns

7-Word Scouting Report:             Prototypical Physique, Impressive 3-Pitch Arsenal, Needs Polish

The Nationals 1st round selection in 2012, the 19-year-old Giolito struggled with his fastball command and an inconsistent strike zone to pitch only 3 innings on Saturday, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks against 3 strikeouts.  My first impression of Giolito is what a monstrous and intimidating presence he is on the mound, as he is listed at 6-6 225lbs., and looks larger.  However, he is athletic for his size and fields his position fairly well.

In his first start of 2014, Giolito featured a 91-94mph 4-seam fastball that topped out at 97mph with excellent late life; he struggled to command his fastball which caused his pitch count to rise and an early exit.  In addition Giolito featured a 78-79mph curveball with massive tilt and sharp late breaking action, a true above-average pitch.  Finally, Giolito’s best pitch on this evening was his 79-82mph changeup he threw to left-handed hitters, with exceptional depth and splitter-like downward action. 

His delivery is relatively quiet and clean, especially for someone still growing into his body.  Giolito did struggle to repeat his motion Saturday, as he had a tendency to over-rotate through his deliver, causing him to open up early and throw his fastball low and away in the dirt to righties.  For the most part these struggles can be attributed to the cold, windy conditions and this being Giolito’s first start of the season.   

While the statistical line was not good, I am not particularly alarmed about his poor fastball command, as that should improve as the weather warms up and he throws more innings.  My main concern was that opposing batters were quickly picking up the ball from Giolito and squaring up his fastball pretty consistently for loud contact.  His type of raw stuff should overwhelm a Low-A lineup, so I am curious to see if this pattern will continue with more talented professional hitters, or if this was a one game aberration. 

In spite of these concerns, Giolito’s raw skills and massive talent are readily apparent, as has three overwhelming pitches, a solid delivery, and a prototypical pitcher’s frame.  But this start reminds us that as talented as he is, Giolito still only has 41 professional innings under his belt and needs experience on the mound.  Perhaps this start has tempered my expectation of a rapid rise through the minor leagues and an early 2015 arrival in Washington, but it did nothing to damper my overall opinion of Lucas Giolito – The sky is the limit on his ability and the Nationals are very fortunate to have him in their farm system.

One of the many keys to the Washington Nationals opening day victory over the Mets was the excellent pitching of the bullpen, specifically from Aaron Barrett, who made his major league debut on Monday.  Barrett entered spring training an underdog in the competition to secure a spot on the Nationals roster, but after allowing 0 runs and 0 walks against 8 strikeouts in 10.2 innings, he forced himself into the Nationals bullpen to begin the season.

Aaron Barrett, 26-years-old, was the Nationals 9^th round selection in the 2010 MLB draft as a senior out of the University of Mississippi.  Barrett famously overcame a battle with the “yips” early in his minor league career to reinvent himself as a late-inning reliever in 2012 and 2013.  A thickly built 6-3 225lbs with plenty of effort involved in his pitching delivery, Barrett was probably a better fit long-term as a reliever anyways.  Blessed with an excellent fastball and a dominant slider, Barrett has also refined his command of the strike zone, allowing only 2.7 BB/9 last year against a noteworthy 12.3 K/9 ratio. 

Barrett entered the game against the Mets on Monday in the 9^th inning and needed only 11 pitches to quickly complete the inning.  Barrett threw 7 strikes against 4 balls, striking out 2 hitters and inducing a deep fly out; he threw 4 fastballs averaging 94.82mph, 4 sinkers averaging 94.75mph, and 3 sliders averaging 86.13mph.  (Thanks BrooksBaseball.net)

Both of his fastballs had excellent velocity, obviously, in addition to impressive movement, which made it difficult for the batter to square up and hit.  But the difference-maker for Barrett is his overpowering slider, a true expletive-creating pitch that particularly baffles right-handed hitters.  Armed with an above-average sinker and a true plus slider, Barrett showed on Monday the potential to be a high-leverage major league relief pitcher.

Although this is a small sample of only 11 pitches in his first major league appearance, it is difficult not to be optimistic, even bullish, of what someone with Barrett’s repertoire could do to bolster the Nationals relief corps in 2014.  His mid-90s sinking fastball, devastating slider, and strike out potential should make him an interesting compliment to sinker/slider/double-play machine Craig Stammen in the middle innings for the Nationals.  Barrett will go through the typical ups-and-downs any reliever will, but the Nationals made a wise decision bringing him to Washington, as he will help them this season.