RADIO
BALLER MOVE: Target ~205 Overall
ANALYSIS: In between his suspension for the “pine tar incident” and a long DL stint, Michael Pineda did show flashes of brilliance last season. His first-strike and swinging-strike percentages were well above average. Not only did Pineda do a good job of getting ahead of batters, but once batters were behind in the count, they had a tough time getting their bat on the ball. Pineda also had an extremely low 5.4 HR/FB rate last season.
The fact that the velocity on his fastball was a couple MPH lower last season compared to what it was in 2011 is a bit concerning, but his pinpoint control made him a very effective pitcher down the stretch in 2014. Yes, Pineda is injury prone and hasn’t thrown more than 84 innings in a season, but given his 2014 performance, he can be a very valuable pick in the 19th or 20th round.
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