Yankees' Tanaka: I'm fine with where my velocity is right now

New York Yankees right-hander Masahiro Tanaka insisted he wasn't tentative on the mound Wednesday at George M. Steinbrenner Field, where he routinely failed to eclipse 90 miles per hour on the radar gun.

After notching seven strikeouts across 4 2/3 innings against the New York Mets, the 26-year-old right-hander explained that his velocity dip was actually the expected consequence of a newfound emphasis on the two-seam fastball, an offering with greater movement than his four-seamer.

"The reason for the 88, 89, 90 (mph) is that I'm throwing two-seamers," Tanaka told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch through an interpreter. "The reason I'm not throwing (four-seamers) much is that a lot of the four-seamers were being hit last year during the regular season. So I'm doing this on purpose. I'm working on the two-seamers purposely."

Tanaka, who famously opted not to undergo Tommy John surgery after being diagnosed with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament last July, actually started to curtail usage of his four-seam fastball during the latter stages of the 2014 campaign.

After returning in September from an extended stint on the disabled list, Tanaka used his two-seam fastball with increased frequency over his final two starts of the season while throwing his four-seamer only 11.67 percent of the time.

(Courtesy: Brooks Baseball)

Tanaka, then, tried to quash any notion that his reduced velocity this spring is fueled by concern over the health of his elbow. Across three Grapefruit League starts, Tanaka owns a sterling 1.74 ERA with a 12:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over 10 1/3 innings. 

"I'm not worried about where I'm at right now," Tanaka said. "I'm not a pitcher that would throw 95 mph every single pitch. I may get that maybe once or twice in a game. Given that, I'm OK with where my velocity is at right now."