Mets Starting Pitching Will Be Fine Without Carrasco, Walker

In back-to-back games, the New York Mets saw Carlos Carrasco and Taijuan Walker to injury. We would also see the Mets lose both of those games.

With Carrasco, it was very bad news. He has an oblique strain which takes about a month to heal. Depending on how he heals, his season may be in jeopardy.

With respect to Walker, it’s the second time in three starts he’s had an issue. This time, it was back spasms. At this point, there’s no telling when he can return.

Losing both pitchers hurts as both have been very good for the Mets this year. They’ve been the mainstays and stabilizing forces for a rotation which has dealt with more than their fair share of injuries.

That is exactly how we know the Mets rotation will be fine in their absence.

In all due respect to Carrasco and Walker, they’re not Jacob deGrom or Max Scherzer. We didn’t see deGrom until August, and Scherzer was down for all of June and part of May.

Carrasco and Walker stepping up were part of the reason. That was just part of it as the Mets needed pitchers to step up in the vacated rotation spots.

First and foremost, David Peterson has been in-and-out of the rotation due to a myriad of pitcher injuries. In his 14 starts, he’s 5-2 with a 3.17 ERA, 1.225 WHIP, and a 10.5 K/9 while averaging five innings per start.

In sum, Peterson has shown himself to be a more than capable fifth starter with real upside. While he’s a step back from Carrasco and Walker, he’s a credible Major League starter who has flashes of brilliance.

Trevor Williams has served just about every role for the Mets. That includes emergency starter, spot starter, and fifth starter.

Wiliiams has been much better in the bullpen. As a starter, he’s pitched at least five innings just three times in eight starts. He has a 4.67 ERA as a starter with a drastically reduced strikeout rate.

That said, his last start was his best. On July 7, he shutout the Miami Marlins over seven innings while limiting them to just two hits. Ultimately, he has the ability to have a good to great start.

There’s also the Tylor Megill factor. The Mets had announced he was moving to the bullpen, but that was before these most recent injuries.

Overall, the Mets have credible starters to jump into Carrasco’s and Walker’s spots. We know the Mets have pitchers who can pitch well. In the end, that’s why there’s no reason to panic.