Just Mets

If you thought all of the Mets-Yankees debates were over after last month’s Subway Series, think again.

In his last four starts, the first coming against the Mets on April 24th, Yankees starter Michael Pineda is 3-0 with a 1.28 ERA, 34 strikeouts and one walk in 28.1 innings pitched. There’s no getting around it, in these four starts, he’s been utterly filthy–but here’s where things get interesting…

Coming off of a performance in which he struck out 16 Orioles on Sunday, the “jump to conclusions” crowd, whether they be fans or members of the media, have already begun to begin a sudden and unexpected debate, and that is that Michael Pineda is better than Matt Harvey.

Whoa there.

Let’s slow down, take a breath and take a look before we roll out the conclusions mat.

To be fair, the numbers this season have been extraordinarily similar to this point. Harvey is 5-1 with a 2.72 ERA, while Pineda is 5-0 with that very same 2.72 ERA. Pineda has the edge in strikeouts (54-38) and walks (3-5), while Harvey has the slightly lower WHIP (0.96-1.01).

The thing to remember here is that while both 26-year-olds have been terrific early on in this season that Harvey is putting up these numbers coming off of Tommy John surgery, and hadn’t pitched in a major league game in nearly 20 months.

This debate hasn’t solely been sparked by fans and journalists, however.

“I think he’s a little more proven,” Yankees starter CC Sabathia said on Pineda, according to the New York Post. “Everybody wants to throw Harvey in there, and Harvey is good, but it’s a small, small sample.”

These comments by CC–not the first shot he’s taken at the Mets this year, by the way–are very curious.

Harvey came up with a bang as a rookie and continued his spectacular run until he went down with Tommy John surgery in 2013, going 12-10 while posting a 2.39 ERA and 261 strikeouts in his first career 36 starts. Factor in his six starts this season and Harvey has a 2.43 ERA in his career (42 starts).

On the other side is Pineda, who made his debut with the Mariners in 2011. That season Pineda made 28 starts for Seattle, going 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA, 173 strikeouts, 18 home runs allowed and 55 walks in 171 innings pitched. Following his rookie season, Pineda was traded to the Yankees, where he didn’t throw a single pitch in the major leagues in 2012 or 2013 due to various injuries.

It was last season where we finally saw Pineda on the mound and in his limited time, he looked good, posting a 1.89 ERA. The problem with Pineda last year was that he struggled to stay on the field once again, pitching just 46.1 innings and making 13 starts as he dealt with a pine tar suspension and more health problems.

You don’t expect Sabathia to say one of his teammates is worse than anyone, especially someone who is across town. But,  CC cited track record and small samples when calling Pineda the better pitcher. However when you look at the overall picture, Pineda has made 48 career starts (293.2 innings pitched) with a 3.10 ERA, while Harvey has made just six less starts than Pineda, 42 (277.1 innings pitched), with a significantly lower 2.43 ERA.

At the core of it, it’s a fun debate about two young pitchers on two first place New York teams, but with all due respect to CC, facts are facts.

Both teams are good, both pitchers are good. But Let’s not be so quick to supplant Matt Harvey – lets just enjoy the ride right now.