MLB News: Pitch Count A Big Concern For Masahiro Tanaka
Japanese pitching sensation Masahiro Tanaka might be the hottest player on the market right now, but front office executives are a little bit concerned about his ability to throw more pitches in a ballgame.
General Managers believed Tanaka's high pitch count only exposes his weakness as he struggled to finish off batters with lesser pitches on the mound.
Real GM reported that a National League executive believed such high number could be a downside for Tanaka, who is expected to collect $100 million after the Rakuten Golden Eagles made him available for posting.
"There were the 742 pitches Tanaka threw over six starts in a two-week span as a 17-year-old at the national high school baseball tournament. And the back-to-back 137- and 142-pitch starts at 20 years old. The coup de grace came during the Japan Series this season, in which Tanaka went 160 pitches during a Game 6 loss, then came back the next day and threw another 15 in relief to close out Rakuten's championship victory," writes Jeff Passan via Real GM.