New York Yankees: Problems with the Starting Rotation

Oct 6, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (19) reacts after the second inning against the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card playoff baseball game at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 6, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (19) reacts after the second inning against the Houston Astros in the American League Wild Card playoff baseball game at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Yankees
Aug 7, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (30) pitches during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

After a ton of doubt and scrutiny over the amount of pitches he threw, Nathan Eovaldi was able to silence a lot of the doubt by posting a 14-3 record with a 4.20 ERA in 27 starts. He did end the season with some inflammation in his elbow that sidelined him for the last month, but before then, Eovaldi exceeded expectations, as he was only considered to be the Yankees 4th starter.

Eovaldi shined particularly in the second half of 2015. After working with Yankees pitching Coach Larry Rolthschild on a splitter in the first half, he learned to trust it after the All-Star break, which made him one of the most effective starters for the bombers last season. From June 20th to August 24th, he posted a 2.93 ERA with the help of an enhanced splitter.

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The 25-year old is likely to only get better and should be a major factor for the Yankees pitching staff for at least the next two years. New York received trade calls on Eovaldi earlier in the winter, but nothing ever came of it since the Yankees want a younger pitching staff and even shipped away a player they really liked in Martin Prado to get him.

When you look at the games Eovaldi pitched, the only one that stuck out as a bad game was his performance pitching against his former team the Marlins when he couldn’t even last two innings and gave up almost 10 runs in. But besides that one bad outing, he kept New York in every game and has the great potential, like Severino, to be something great for years to come.

Next: Michael Pineda