New York Yankees: Is Masahiro Tanaka back playing his best baseball?

There’s one reality when it comes to New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, he’s inconsistent, but when he’s on, there’s nobody in the MLB that can hit against him.

Tanaka proved that on Monday night as he pitched a complete game against the Tampa Bay Rays, the only team neck and neck with the Yankees for the lead in the AL East. A 3-0 victory in which Tanaka threw 111 pitches allowing just two hits and one walk. He struck out 10 in a dominant performance that kicked off an important series against the Rays.

In a week where the Yankees traded for first baseman Edwin Encarnacion, Masahiro stole the headlines, showing why he deserves to be considered an ace. However, there’s something interesting about the Japanese gun-slinger. He seems to lose his control in normal games but when the stakes are high he rises to the occasion.

“It was big,” Aaron Boone said. “Pax threw the ball well [Sunday]. And for Masa to come out and kick off this homestand against the Rays, who are a really good team over there, a lot of guys in that lineup who can hurt you, it was huge. You need performances like that sprinkled throughout the year to preserve guys and it becomes a big reset day when you have that kind of performance.”

The New York Yankees need Tanaka to continue dominating:

It’s important he pitches consistently well throughout the course of the season, something his 5-5 record doesn’t necessarily indicate. He does have a 3.23 ERA with 33 runs allows over 92 innings pitched. With the Bombers having a spotty starting rotation, it’s important that Tanaka sets the tone moving forward and executes on a normal basis.

His ungodly slider has come crashing back down to mortal status at times, and he didn’t even believe he displayed his best stuff against the Rays, stating:

“My stuff wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be tonight.”

“I feel like I was a bit lucky today.”

With a 2.3 fWAR, right on par with Justin Verlander, Tanaka has the potential to be considered one of the most efficient pitchers in baseball. However, he gives up too many home runs, which is the only statistic that keeps him from reaching elite status (1.3 HR/9 for his career, 1.4 last season).

His fastball speed has dropped off a bit – by 0.4 MPH. In 2018, he featured a 92.2 MPH average fastball and this season it has dropped to 91.8 MPH. There’s plenty of room for improvement as the season continues on, and we should expect him to gradually up his efficiency.