So far this year, the Mets bullpen has been dominant. Their dominance was all the more astounding when you consider Jeurys Familia was struggling to start the year. 

In Familia’s first nine appearances, he was a shadow of his former self. Opponents were hitting .325/.386/.350 against him. He had a 3.00 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. He was striking out less than a batter an inning. He was noticeably fighting it on the mound. He wasn’t getting his sinker down. He wasn’t locating the ball like he usually has been able. 

The only good news was that Familia was bearing down when he needed to do so. During this time, he was a perfect 5/5 in save chances. Familia was getting the job done, but it was ugly.

It now seems that Familia has turned the corner, and he had returned to his dominant form. In his last seven appearances, Familia has shut down the other team. Opposing batters are only hitting .130/.130/.174 against him. He’s locating the ball better. As a result, he’s not walking anyone. During this stretch Familia has a 1.29 ERA and a 0.43 WHIP. He’s back to striking out nearly a batter per inning.  He’s been a perfect 6/6 in save chances, and he is now leading the league in saves. In short, Familia is back. 

As we’ve seen, Familia is a great closer capable of pitching multiple innings and closing out the biggest games.  He’s back to pitching like that. This Mets bullpen and team just got even better because Familia is officially back.