Why Michael Pineda Deserves to Be in New York Yankees' Starting Rotation

During spring training, New York Yankees starter Michael Pineda has been rumored to be a possible candidate to go to the minors considering the Yanks over-abundance of starting pitching.

However, as the spring has progressed, Pineda has shown that he is a big league pitcher.

In his last start on Sunday, Pineda went five innings and allowed one run on five hits with fours strikeouts and two walks. The big right-hander had a rough first inning, but finished strong with a 1-2-3 fourth inning and two strikeouts against his last two batters faced in the fifth.

As a whole, his numbers this spring prove Pineda has earned his spot—1-0, 3.31 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 16 innings.

Pineda's velocity still isn't where it was in Seattle, but the young right-hander isn't too concerned about that. Catcher Russell Martin believes when the season starts and the competition heats up, Pineda can easily increase his velocity a few ticks in response (via Andrew Marchand of ESPN).

The former Seattle Mariners' All-Star didn't look so hot when the spring started. He came to camp overweight and seemingly had a tough time adjusting to the incredible media presence for such small events.

But as the spring has progressed, Pineda has grown more comfortable with the media and it seems that is translating to more success on the mound.

Things should only get better from here.

"I feel very comfortable now," said Pineda. "I feel ready."

Pineda's upside, along with those of Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes, make it impossible for the Bombers to move either of their three young starters to the minors or worse, the bullpen.

That makes Freddy Garcia necessary trade bait and reports have the Yankees shopping him already in order to make space and in turn, make manager Joe Girardi's job slightly easier.

No matter what the Yanks decide to do with their extra starter, one thing remains consistent: Michael Pineda should be apart of New York's starting five when the 2012 season begins.