Tuesday’s game went very well for Banuelos as he allowed only 2 runs on 7 hits over 5 innings. He did allow 3 walks, but they all came early in the game before he settled down a bit. Notwithstanding the walks, Banuelos impressed everyone with his 8 strikeouts and his fastball hitting 93 consistently throughout the evening. He finished the game with 100 pitches – 62 of which were strikes. Overall, it was a great debut for Banuelos.
Although his numbers look great in the debut, statistics only tell part of the story. I find the more important factor in this start was his ability to get himself out of trouble. With two outs in the fifth inning, Banuelos gave up back to back singles. Both baserunners stole bases and were in scoring position in a tie game. Banuelos didn’t allow the pressure to get to him and struck out the next batter with a 93 mph fastball (his 100th pitch) to get himself out of the 5th. If we continue to see progress like this from Banuelos, there is a chance we may see him as a starter by the end of next season.
That’s not to say that Banuelos doesn’t have some issues he needs to work out first. Most importantly, he needs to work on his command as he is allowing way too many walks. In Double-A he has allowed 52 walks over 95 innings which puts his walk ratio at 5.4BB/9IP. This is a clear sign that Banuelos is not ready for MLB just yet.
Banuelos has been working on his changeup which has developed into an effective secondary pitch especially against righties, and has developed his curveball as well but not to the extent of his change. Since he is only 20 years old, I am certain we will see more pitches developed from Banuelos over the next year or two, but in the meantime he needs to work on his command. Specifically, Banuelos must develop his fastball command which is causing too many walks, similar to his Triple-A start. The walks have attributed to his inflated WHIP of 1.5 and his ERA of 3.59. On the flip side, he is absolutely dominating batters with strikeouts as his ratio is 8.9K’s/9IP. Just to give you an idea of strikeout ratio’s – CC Sabathia has a 8.3K/9IP ratio and Banuelos’ is higher!
It is extremely unlikely the Yankees will call up Banuelos this season to start a game, as Cashman made it perfectly clear before the season that none of the Killer B’s would start this season. But, there is a chance that Banuelos may get a chance to pitch in the bullpen for the Yankees this season. When Cashman was asked about that during the past week, he just said “We’ll See” which leaves the door open. Right now the Yankees don’t have a second lefty for the bullpen other than J.C. Romero down in Triple-A, who was released by the Phillies about halfway through this season. If Banuelos can continue his progress, I believe there is a chance the Yanks could call him up. After all, Banuelos has very good numbers against lefties who are only hitting .229 against him this season with 0 home runs compared to righties who are hitting .277 with considerably more walks. The Yankees will need a second lefty in the bullpen if they expect to beat the lefty heavy boston lineup and Boone Logan, although doing better in the second half, just isn’t getting the job done.
This will be something to keep an eye on with every start Banuelos makes down in Triple-A. At the same time, the Yankees must balance the need to not screw things up with Banuelos’ role as a starter versus reliever similar to Hughes & Joba. I’m sure I will have some more updates on Manny Banuelos so check back.
Here's a Link to a Highlight Video Of Banuelos. Click HERE
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