Michael Pineda has not pitched in the big leagues since 2011 which was a dominant rookie campaign. That fact alone makes him one of the most intriguing fantasy starters this year.
Analysis: Pineda is scheduled to make his first start on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays. Pineda struck out 173 batters in 171 innings as a rookie in 2011. He also posted a 3.74 ERA, a 3.53 xFIP and a 1.10 WHIP that season. Last year in the minors as he continued to recover from his devastating shoulder injury he pitched well in the small sample size. He posted a 3.86 ERA in Triple-A last year with a 10.03K/9 rate and a 1.03 WHIP in just 23.1 innings of work.
We also have to consider that Michael Pineda had a wonderful spring. He posted a sub 2.00 ERA and had great command in 15 innings of work this spring. We know the Yanks will score tons of runs so Pineda can remain fantasy relevant putting up a 4.00 ERA with lots of strikeouts to go along with the run support and wins.
Currently, Michael Pineda is available in 15-70% of fantasy leagues.