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March 16, 2007


Yankees.com - Notes: Igawa still making adjustments
by SG

Eight of Kei Igawa's first nine pitches missed the strike zone Thursday, and with two Atlanta Braves on base and none out, Ron Guidry made an unexpectedly early trot to the mound.

Communication has been just one hurdle for the Japanese left-hander this spring, but whatever Guidry said in his Louisiana twang, it seemed to help.

Igawa struck out the side to end the inning and, even as he battled spotty control, finished off three scoreless frames to complete his third Grapefruit League start.


I got to watch Igawa for the first time last night. His fastball was better than I expected, pretty consistent at 90-91, but his command was horrible. Even on his strikes, he was missing Jorge Posada's target on pretty much every pitch. Like Philco said in the comments of the last post, the strikeouts are a good sign that his stuff can get big league hitters out, but if he doesn't get his command that's not going to fly.

With the Yankees not needing a fifth starter for at least a few weeks, I think the Yankees should probably start Igawa in AAA. Putting him in the major league bullpen as the long reliever won't give him the work he needs to get his mechanics in order. I'm still not expecting great things from Igawa, but from what little I saw last night he's got the potential to be a decent fourth or fifth starter.