One of the most exciting things about the 2016 season was supposed to be seeing Noah Syndergaard take the next step towards becoming an ace.  In his first start, he certainly didn’t disappoint averaging 99 MPH on his fastball and getting his slider over 95 MPH.  From the very beginning, Syndergaard established that he was going to be a dominating and intimidating presence.

And that’s just what he was.  In his first 15 starts, Syndergaard was averaging 99 MPH on his fastball and 92 MPH on his slider.  He was striking out 10.9 batters per nine innings, and opponents were only able to hit .231/.257/.325 off of him.  During this impressive stretch to begin the season, Syndergaard emerged as the staff’s ace with an 8-2 record, a 2.08 ERA, and a 0.989 WHIP.  He was not only in the conversation with pitchers like Clayton Kershaw and Jake Arrieta as candidates to start the All Star Game, but also as early season candidates to win the Cy Young Award.

On June 27th, disaster seemingly struck.  He would only last three innings allowing seven hits, five runs, five earned, and three walks with only five strikeouts.  There was something clearly wrong with him, and it was discovered after the game, Syndergaard had bone chips in his elbow.

Since the bone spurs were discovered, Syndergaard’s velocity has dropped.  He has been averaging “only” 98 MPH on his fastball and 91 MPH on his slider.  In his subsequent July 8th start, .  After that start, it was discovered Syndergaard was dealing with a dead arm.  In his last inning of work, his fastball, not his changeup, his fastball would hit 91 MPH.  On the day, he would only last 4.2 innings allowing four hits, three runs, three earned, and no walks with four strikeouts.  Between the bone chips and the dead arm, Syndergaard would have to miss the All Star Game.  He would also miss out on being the same dominant pitcher he was to start the season.

Overall, each and every single one of his pitches have been less effective, and he has had a more difficult time putting people away.  From June 27th on, batters are hitting .299/.369/.417 off of him.  During this six start stretch, he has gone 1-3 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.577 WHIP.  A large part of all of this is he is having difficulty locating his pitches.  Keep in mind that in his first 15 starts, he walked a total of 12 batters over 91.0 innings.  In his most recent six start clip, he has walked 13 batters over 32.1 innings.  Jacob deGrom has eclipsed him to reclaim his position as the Mets ace.

The Mets are now in the dog days of August, and they are still in the heat of the Wild Card race.  With all the injuries the team has sustained, they need all of their healthy players to perform at the highest possible level they can in order to make the postseason.  However, given the dead arm and the bone chips, it is questionable if Syndergaard can return back to form and lead the Mets back to the postseason.