It was a no-brainer that Michael Pineda would star in the big leagues right away.  Had to be, considering which mobile home you found it in.

What wasn't a no-brainer was that Michael Pineda would be one of the six best pitchers in the American League from the word Go.  Here are the things that SSI, in February, had no guarantees on:

• That his FB command would be "80" rather than "65"
• That his slider would be "80" rather than "60 plus"
• That he would have 70-plus pitchability

I mean, we were hoping for some of the above things, but we sold Pineda very conservatively this March, as a house vigorish factor.

With the 97 fastball and plus command that we'd seen in Cheney, and his mound presence, and what he'd shown of his slider already, Pineda was going to be a impact pitcher in 2011.   

Then, factoring in the slider we saw in the first ST game, his TOR status was also assured.  There was an article after his March 16 start, if you want to go grab it.

What we have seen the last three starts has gone wayyyyyyy past a simple collection problem, sir.  It turns out that Michael Pineda is not satisfied to be Kerry Wood.  

GET OVER HERE, you lowlife rodent AL batsmen.

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=== Fastball, May 16, 2011===

Pineda's fastball velocity was down from 96.0 average to 94.2 average.  This is a good thing.  Below, we'll detail the specific reasons why.

The root cause, though?  Three to four games ago, Pineda developed a taste for the results when he throws a fastball directly into the catcher's mitt.

His FB arm action was smoother on Monday.  His release and followthrough were less max-effort.  He intended to pitch with precision, rather than with nuclear radiation, and that's what he did.

..........

Tom Seaver once said that if his mechanics were right, "8 out of 10 fastballs should be caught by the catcher moving his glove at the wrist."  This is what Pineda did on Monday. 

Reviewing each pitch on tape and on GameDay -- sad as that may sound, that a fan would do such a thing -- Pineda's command was well-and-truly into Jamie Moyer and Greg Maddux territory.  He would have been effective at 87 mph.

...........

The reader may ask, "Don't we get to see any more 98-99 fastballs?"  

Sure you do.  Two things:  

1) The mature Tom Seaver "reached back" for a dozen 98-99 mph bullets a game.  He'd entangle the hitters in his 94-command game and then "reach back" for an extra three feet and throw the ball by them.

2) Pitchers feel different on different days.  Some games Pineda will go out there feeling like airing it out.

..........

Still, Justin Verlander learned to go from 97-100 mph down to 94-95 with command.  Pineda will do the same.

In April, Pineda led the majors in fastball velo by a mile.  ...he might not finish the year in the lead in velo, and that is because he learns so quickly.