Jacob deGrom
One good thing about baseball is momentum is your next day’s starting pitcher. Therefore, even with the Marins having dominated the Mets two days in a row, the Mets had all the momentum with Noah Syndergaard taking the mound.
Syndergaard delivered. His final line was seven innings, five hits, two runs, two earned, no walks, and nine strikeouts. The outing actually raised his ERA to 0.69.
The Marlins only threatened twice, and they both surrounded the 7-8 hitters Derek Dietrich and Miguel Rojas who had the best at-bats against Syndergaard. In the third, they scored off a Dee Gordon one out double. In the fifth, they were stranded when Gordon struck out to end the inning.
There could have been more damage in the third, but Rene Rivera nailed him trying to steal third. The inning ended with J.T. Realmuto getting caught trying to steal second.
Got heeem! #LGM pic.twitter.com/jvcqMSK7LI
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 10, 2017
The Marlins did not have a successful stolen base attempt against Syndergaard. This is the same pitcher that let the Giants run wild on him last year. He has made a conserted effort to better hold on runners, and we saw tangible effects tonight. A large part of that has been him working with Rivera. As long as nights like this continue, there is no reason to break up this tandem.
Now with the two runs scored, you would be lead to believe the Mets lost with the way the Mets have been struggling on offense. Not tonight with both Jay Bruce and Michael Conforto (playing center in place of Curtis Granderson) it was a different story.
The Mets jumped all over Edison Volquez in the first. After what is now becoming the obligatory Jose Reyes out, Asdrubal Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes hit back-to-back singles. Cabrera’s was satisfying because he laid down a bunt to beat the shift.
Cabrera then beat a poor throw home when he went home on a Jay Bruce grounder. Neil Walker singled home Cespedes, and Lucas Duda singled to load the bases. Bruce then scored on a Conforto bases loaded walk. Just like that it was 3-0.
It was 3-2 when Bruce stepped up to bat in the fifth. It was then 4-0 on a home run to deep center:
Jay Bruce showed off his center field power, a few rows deep into section 141. Not many balls go there. Only one last season. pic.twitter.com/kMpCjiFqtG
— CitiFieldHR (@CitiFieldHR) April 10, 2017
In the sixth, Conforto made it 5-2 with a home run of his own:
CONFORTO HOME RUN!! 5-2 Mets!!
Post Game on SNY pic.twitter.com/XOw4csfaWE
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 10, 2017
With the 5-2 lead, it set the first stage for Fernando Salas and Addison Reed to close out their first game since Jeurys Familia‘s suspension.
The two combined to pitch two scoreless hitless innings. Reed struck out two converting his first save of the year. With that, the Mets are back to .500, and fans can now take a collective sigh, especially with the Mets having momentum.
Jacob deGrom starts tomorrow.
Game Notes: Reyes went 0-4 putting him at 1-24 on the season. That’s a .045 batting average.
For those that bemoan a day and age where men where men and starters went all nine innings today wasn’t for you.
Robert Gsellman got the start, and he fought it all night long. The Marlins took advantage scoring runs in three consecutive innings.
In the first, Giancarlo Stanton hit a two out RBI single scoring Miguel Rojas, who had reached on a double.
In the second, Marcell Ozuna absolutely crushed one:
How to define "crushed." ?
?: https://t.co/xhLiqTLCko#LetsGoFish pic.twitter.com/zlrWm5mVyt
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) April 8, 2017
Leading off the third, Curtis Granderson misplayed a J.T. Realmuto liner into a triple. Really to scored on a Rojas sacrifice fly.
Gsellman finally had a scoreless inning in the fourth, and he appeared to have found himself. He appeared to be settling in a bit. He then struggled in the fifth.
Quickly, it was runners on the corners with one out. In what may be prove to be a building block for the season, Gsellman got out of the inning. First, Gsellman got Justin Bour to ground out weakly to Wilmer Flores freezing the runner at third. Gsellman then got out of the inning by striking out Ozuna with a beautiful change-up.
It was a professional start from Gsellman. He fought it all game long, but he kept his team in the game. His final line was five innings, six hits, three runs, three earned, two walks, and seven strikeouts. He departed down 3-0 after throwing 91 pitches.
While Gsellman kept his team in the game, it wasn’t enough as this Mets team is already showing their warts offensively. Worse yet, the Mets were facing Adam Conley, who absolutely owns the Mets:
In 2 starts at Citi Field, Conley has a 0.00 ERA, 0.615 WHIP, 10.4 K/9. In 5 games against the Mets 1-0, 1.11 ERA, 0.863 WHIP, 8.1 K/9
— Mets Daddy (@MetsDaddy2013) April 8, 2017
It was more of the same from Conley tonight who carried a no-hitter into the fifth. Finally, his no-hitter and his Citi Field scoreless streak was broken up by Lucas Duda:
Watch it fly! #LGM pic.twitter.com/DvVLuywFu6
— New York Mets (@Mets) April 9, 2017
Duda has typically struggled against left-handed pitchers in his career with the exception of 2015. In that season, Duda stayed in and went the other way against lefties. The end result was Duda hitting .285/.333/.545 off left-handed pitching. So far this season, we’re seeing that Duda. He already has two extra-base hits off left-handed pitching and both hits went to left-center.
For some reason, the Marlins pulled Conley after he only threw 85 pitches. There was hope the Mets could get into the Marlins bullpen, but the Duda home run would be as close as the Mets got on the night.
Hansel Robles struggled again walking two and allowing a RBI single to Ozuna making it 4-1.
Paul Sewald made his major league debut in the eighth. The Las Vegas native fittingly wore the number 51.
Unfortunately, Sewald struggled. The Marlins greeted him with three straight singles. When he finally recorded an out, it was a safety squeeze that scored a run. The damage wasn’t worse as Jerry Blevins came on in relief and bailed him out.
Just to rub salt into the wound that was this game, Christian Yelich robbed Yoenis Cespedes of an extra base hit in the ninth. As usual, all the great catches are against the Mets.
In the ninth, Collins turned to Rafael Montero which was absurd and potentially dangerous. Yesterday, Montero threw 35 pitches over 2.2 innings. On Wednesday, Montero threw 35 pitches over 1.2 innings. That’s 70 pitches over 4.2 innings without much rest.
This is shades of Jim Henderson. Henderson was no longer the same pitcher after Collins’ reckless use if him, and Henderson couldn’t get a roster spot with a major league team this year. Collins showed he learned nothing from the event.
Naturally, it didn’t go well for Montero. Now, Montero attacked hitters, but he was a tired pitcher with nothing. It was a shame his manager put him in that position. His allowed three hits and two runs before Fernando Salas got the Mets out of the inning without further damage.
By that point, it didn’t really matter anyway. It was 8-1, which was the final score.
It is difficult picking who had the worst night, but it might have been Neil Walker who earned his first career golden sombrero. He’s now 3-20 on the season.
With the loss, the Mets snap their streak of beating the Marlins in five straight series. Instead of winning a series, the Mets now need to win two in a row just to earn a split. Fortunately, the Mets have Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom the next two nights.
Game Notes: The Phillies jumped all over Jeremy Guthrie and the Nationals scoring 12 first inning runs. Those 12 runs match the amount of runs the Mets have scored all season. Granderson lead off as Jose Reyes started the game on the bench. He was double switched into the game in the sixth. He went 0-1, and he’s 1-19 on the season. Josh Smoker rebounded after yesterday’s tough outing by pitching a scoreless sixth. Asdrubal Cabrera is dealing with a wrist injury.
With Opening Day already behind us, it is now time to look forward to see how the rest of the 2017 season will progress. Yes, this is the typically ill-fated projections post. As with anything else, this will likely be wrong by season’s end, and with any luck, I will be reminded of it come October.
AL East – Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox won the division last year with an MVP caliber season from Mookie Betts, Rick Porcello with a more ways than one surprising Cy Young season, and lots of young talent. The team will be hurt by the loss of David Ortiz, but they will be helped by the addition of Chris Sale, who should help boost a rotation that has David Price as a question mark. Considering the rest of the AL East downgraded as well, it it fair to surmise the downgraded Red Sox roster will stay on top.
AL Central – Cleveland Indians
So, the American League Pennant winners add Edwin Encarnacion, get Michael Brantley back, and return Carlos Correa from injury? That’s the rich getting richer. This team is poised to not only win the division again, but they should be poised to return to the World Series.
AL West – Texas Rangers
This team is truly going to benefit from a full season of Jonathan Lucroy behind the plate, and they are also going to benefit from a full season from Yu Darvish. Combine that with a good bullpen, an excellent manager in Jeff Banister, and veteran leaders in Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli, you have a team that will get the most of its roster and be able to win those close and tight games like they did last year.
AL Wild Card 1 – Houston Astros
The Astros will probably lose the division due to the lack of depth in their starting pitching. However, with a deep lineup that has George Springer–Alex Bregman–Jose Altuve–Carlos Correa–Carlos Beltran as their top five hitters. Combine that with Beltran’s leadership and mentoring of young players, and this is a team that will give the Rangers all they can give them.
AL Wild Card 2 – Seattle Mariners
The Mariners fell heartbreakingly short last season, and they have improved the roster with Jerry DiPoto suddenly becoming Trader Jack McKeon. To name a few, the Mariners added Jean Segura, Yovani Gallardo, and Drew Smyly to what was already a pretty good team with Felix Hernandez, Robinson Cano, and Kyle Seager.
NL East – New York Mets
The Nationals are certainly more formidable than they were last year with them having a full year of Trea Turner and with the Adam Eaton acquisition. However, on the pitching side, they do not have the depth they typically have, and that is an issue with Stephen Strasburg‘s medical history and Max Scherzer having questionable health entering the season. Ultimately, it is the Mets depth that should carry the team over the Nationals in what promises to be a tight race.
NL Central – Chicago Cubs
They won the World Series last year, and they get Kyle Schwarber back into the lineup everyday and add Wade Davis to the bullpen. The real question is not whether they win the division, but whether they get to 100 wins again.
NL West – Los Angeles Dodgers
Like with the National League East, the top two teams are very close, and it’s picking hairs to separate them. If you look at it Clayton Kershaw is better than Madison Bumgarner. Kenley Jansen is better than Mark Melancon. Johnny Cueto is better than another other pitcher the Dodgers have, but the Dodgers have a deeper rotation than the Giants. The Dodgers also arguably have the deeper lineup. If it goes in the reverse, no one should be surprised, but ultimately, the Dodgers appear better on paper.
NL Wild Card 1 – San Francisco Giants
When you have Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, and two aces atop your rotation, it is hard to believe you are going to miss the postseason in its entirety.
NL Wild Card 2 – Washington Nationals
While the team is not deep and has some issues, there are real strengths. Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy are as good and as clutch a 3-4 combination as there is. The bullpen with Koda Glover, Joe Blanton, Shawn Kelley, and Blake Treinen could be dominant. Again, their only real question is health.
Postseason Series
AL Wild Card Game – Postseason Beltran and the Astros offense overcomes King Felix in his first ever postseason start.
ALDS – In what proves to be a slugfest, the better Astros lineup carries them past the Red Sox. In the other ALDS matchup, the Indians pitching, including the unleashing of Andrew Miller proves to be too much for the Rangers.
ALCS – The Indians pitching proves to be too much for a hot hitting Astros team leading them to consecutive World Series appearances.
NL Wild Card Game – Pick your reason: (1) Bumgarner; or (2) it’s technically a postseason series.
NLDS – This year, the Giants with an improved bullpen won’t be denied as Cueto and Bumgarner led the Giants past the Cubs. The Mets and the Dodgers 2015 NLDS matchup is not as intense as the Dodgers only have Kershaw to match the Mets aces leaving the Mets to be able to get past them a little easier this go-round.
NLCS – Bumgarner and Cueto are offset by Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom. After that, the Mets can pick from Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Robert Gsellman, Zack Wheeler, or maybe even Seth Lugo. You’d probably take any of them over the Giants next best starter Jeff Samardzija. As such, the Mets pitching outlasts the Giants pitching.
World Series – As painful as this is to say, Terry Francona just manages his way around Terry Collins and brings the Indians their first World Series title since 1948.
Power pitchers always present a conundrum. When they’re young and at their best, they dominate. However, they won’t always have that fastball. The question then becomes what next? Can the pitcher effectively adapt with a diminished fastball to be a quality starter? Can they still be dominant?
As Mets fans, we saw it first-hand with Pedro Martinez. In Boston, Pedro threw in the high 90s, and he put together legendarily great seasons. Towards the end of his Boston run and his time with the Mets, Pedro was in the low 90s forcing him to focus even more on location and movement.
In 2005, Pedro did that better than anyone going 15-8 with a 2.82 ERA, 0.949 WHIP, and an 8.6 K/9. He was an All Star. He was dominant. He could’ve done more if not for foot and shoulder injuries.
Judging from Matt Harvey‘s start last night, we may be watching Harvey try to emulate what Pedro did so well in 2005.
When Harvey burst on the scene in 2013, he was throwing in the high 90s and would hit 100 MPH. After his Tommy John surgery, Harvey again was living in the high 90s even if he wasn’t quite getting it to 100 MPH anymore. After Harvey’s surgery to remove a rib to alleviate the effects of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS), his velocity hasn’t quite returned yet. During Spring Training, what velocity he did have wasn’t consistently there.
As a result, Harvey had to adapt. Adapt he did.
Last night, instead of trying to blow his four seamer past batters, Harvey relied almost exclusively on his two seamer. Instead of being in the high 90s, Harvey was hovering around 94 MPH. Instead of trying to rack up the strikeouts, he was relying on movement, location, and pitching to contact.
We saw an economical Harvey who only needing 77 pitches to get through 6.2 innings. Other than two mistakes Matt Kemp turned into long home runs, Harvey mostly yielded week contact. Impressively, Harvey seemed to get stronger as the game went on recording two of his four strikeouts in the seventh. While it wasn’t the typical Harvey start we were used to seeing, it was the same Harvey. He had the swagger on the mound, and he dominated the opposition.
And with that, we have a glimpse of the transformation Harvey is undertaking in the event his velocity never fully returns. With him, we see a pitcher who is knows how to pitch. We see a pitcher able to reinvent himself. We see a pitcher able to dominate in more ways than one.
This is extremely important. The Mets have decisions over the next few years on who to keep and who should go. Essentially, you’re gauging who is going to be Pedro and who is going to be Tim Lincecum. The ones that go the Pedro route are the ones who are worthy of contract extensions. They are going to be the pitchers who will continue to pitch at a high level, and they will help the Mets compete for the World Series year in and year out. While there may have been some doubt Harvey was that type of pitcher, last night, he started to put those concerns to bed.
When Harvey was first called up to the majors, we knew he was special. Seeing him last night, he showed just how special he could be. He could be one of the greats that has the ability to get outs no matter what he has. If that is the case, even though he is represented by Scott Boras, he might just be the first pitcher you want to sign to a contract extension.
However, before we get to that point, let’s just enjoy Harvey for what he is. He’s already gone a long way in calming our concerns about him and the rotation. We can once again dream of the Mets winning a World Series this year with a rotation headlined by him, Jacob deGrom, and Noah Syndergaard.
Steven Matz was dealing with elbow pain towards the end of Spring Training, and it landed him in the disabled list. He has subsequently been diagnosed with a strained flexor tendon leaving Matz to say, “I try to do all I can to stay healthy and stay on the field. Thankfully, it’s not anything more serious. So, I hope that I can come back and help the team when I’m ready but there’s nothing I can do I feel like.” (Marc Carig, Newsday).
Seth Lugo struggled in the World Baseball Classic Championship Game and when he returned to the Mets in Spring Training. The struggles were blamed on a dead arm that, like Matz, landed him in the disabled list. He was sent for an MRI yesterday. After the Mets Opening Day win Mets manager Terry Collins would say, “We lost Seth Lugo today for a period of time, so we know how important it is to keep our pitchers healthy.” (Laura Albanese, Newsday).
And just like that the vaunted Mets pitching depth of seven starters is now down to five . . . a fragile five.
The injuries have forced Zack Wheeler into the rotation ahead of schedule. With his missing two full seasons due to Tommy John surgery, the Mets wanted to limit him to around 125 innings. That’s going to be extremely difficult when he’s in the Opening Day rotation, and the Mets currently go only five starters deep.
In front of Wheeler in the rotation is Matt Harvey. In 2015, he was terrific after returning from his own Tommy John surgery. He wasn’t able to take the next step as expected in 2016 as he was dealing with the effects of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS).
Harvey had the season ending surgery to alleviate the effects of his TOS, but so far he hasn’t rebounded as well as he did from Tommy John. Harvey has been inconsistent with his velocity and location during Spring Training. For his part, Harvey believes he turned a corner saying, “It definitely took a little while, but moving in the right direction.” (James Wagner, New York Times).
While Jacob deGrom appears back to his 2015 Cy Young caliber form, he is coming off an injury plagued season. First, it was the oblique. Then it was a nerve issue in his pitching elbow which required season ending surgery.
This leaves Noah Syndergaard and Robert Gsellman as potentially the Mets only truly healthy starters entering the season.
The issue with Gsellman is he’s a rookie with only 44.2 major league innings under his belt. For that matter, he only has 93.1 innings above Double A. It’s possible he hits a rookie wall, or he needs to have his innings limited this year.
So, to that end, the only pitcher left you feel 100% confident about this year is Syndergaard . . . and he was forced to leave his Opening Day start due to a blister. His next start has already been pushed back a day. Considering the Mets health history, it’s hard to be confident that’s all it will be.
With that, the Mets vaunted pitching rotation depth has already been tested. With one more injury or one prolonged slump, the Mets may be forced to turn to Rafael Montero which hasn’t turned too well in the past.
In the event Montero or someone else takes the mound, we all may soon realize the Mets deep seven man pitching staff just might’ve been one or two starters short.
With the Mets returning almost of the entire 2016 team that lost the Wild Card Game, the team is going to have to count on the players they have now improving in order for the team to advance further than the Wild Card Game. Fortunately for the Mets there are some players who appear poised to have a much better 2017 season:
After the 2015 season, d’Arnaud seemed poised to take the next step. After all, his 130 wRC+ trailed only Buster Posey among major league catchers with at last 200 AB. His pitch framing was simply outstanding. While he was never known for his arm, he was able to throw out 33% of base stealers, which was actually higher than league average. Entering his age 27 season, he seemed primed for an All Star selection or more.
Injuries once again got in the way for d’Arnaud as did his problems throwing out base stealers. He also regressed offensively hitting a paltry .247/.307/.323 in 75 games. After a season like that, the only place d’Arnaud could realistically go is up.
And that’s where he is trending this Spring Training. With his work with Kevin Long, he has abandoned the wrap in his batting stance, and we have seen him hit much better in the Spring. While his throwing is not exactly where you want it yet, but with Glenn Sherlock as his catching coach, we should see d’Arnaud improve again behind the plate.
And with d’Arnaud improving offensively and defensively, and with a little luck on the health side, we may finally see d’Arnaud play at an All Star level.
RF – Jay Bruce
In his 50 games with the Mets, Bruce hit .219/.294/.391 with eight homers and 19 RBI. While the trade for Bruce may not have been popular, and the Mets being unable to trade him this offseason being even less unpopular, let’s keep in mind Bruce has been a far better player than this in his career.
In his nine year career, Bruce is a .248/.318/.467 hitter who has averaged 27 homers and 82 RBI. In each season he has played 150 games, he has hit 30 homers and 97+ RBI. He has shown the ability to be patient at the plate having posted .353 and .341 OBP in his career. The overriding point here is that Bruce is capable of so much more, and fortunately, Bruce is with a team that can get it out of him.
Since Kevin Long became the Mets hitting coach, he has taken players like Daniel Murphy, Curtis Granderson, Yoenis Cespedes, Neil Walker, and Asdrubal Cabrera, and he has gotten them to hit for more power and get on base more frequently. As James Wagner of the New York Times reports, the Mets have begun that process by sharing advanced data with him and by helping him change his approach at the plate. So far, Bruce has been a willing student.
Considering Bruce is willing to listen and improve, and the Mets have the people in place who help hitters improve, there is every expectation that we should see a much better version of Jay Bruce than we saw last year.
SP Jacob deGrom
The 2016 season was a tough one for deGrom. He started the year with an injured oblique and a sick infant. He didn’t have his velocity even when he was presumably healthy, and then he had to have season ending to repair the ulnar nerve in his pitching elbow.
Whereas deGrom was throwing around 94 MPH in 2016, this Spring, he is back to the 96+ MPH he was in 2015. That was a pitcher who was 14-8 with a 2.54 ERA, 0.979 WHIP, and a 9.7 K/9. That was a pitcher who finished seventh in Cy Young voting. That was a pitcher who out-dueled Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Kyle Hendricks in the postseason. That pitcher was an ace. By all accounts, that pitcher is back.
SP Steven Matz
There were glimpses of the ace Matz could be during last season. In an eight start stretch from April 17th to May 31st, Matz was 7-0 with a 1.17 ERA, 0.913 WHIP, and an 8.7 K/9. From that point forward, Matz had difficulty pitching through what was described as a massive bone spur in his pitching elbow. Matz lost a tick on his fastball, and he had to reduce the amount of sliders he threw. He struggled, and he eventually had to have season ending surgery.
Looking at him this Spring, Matz is back to the form he was when he was at his best last year. Maybe, just maybe, he might be even better. After working with former Met Scott Rice this offseason, Matz has a slightly new leg kick which functions to keep both base runners and batters off balance. With the new delivery, Matz could possibly be better than what we saw from him over the past two seasons. With the bone spurs gone, and with him presumably no longer sleeping on couches, his injury problems are hopefully in the rear view mirror. Then again, with this latest bout with the elbow, who knows with him?
Overall, with him reportedly feeling good after throwing off flat ground, and I’m choosing to believe the MRI is precautionary. I’m going to choose to believe Matz will be good to go in 2017, and he will have a breakout 2017 season.
LF Yoenis Cespedes
Last season, Cespedes hit .280/.354/.530 with 31 homers and 86 RBI. Using OPS+ as a barometer, it was the third best season of his career. It is all the more amazing he had that type of a season when you consider Cespedes played out of position most of the year, and he dealt with a right quad injury most of the year.
In 2017, Cespedes should be playing in his natural left field position where he won the 2015 American League Gold Glove despite playing only 102 games there. He should also be more comfortable with a large guaranteed contract with a Mets team in which he loves. We have seen the effects of that with Cespedes showing up to camp in terrific shape, and he has been all about business this Spring. No car show. No waffles. Just baseball.
And by the way, he is absolutely killing this Spring. He’s sending moon shots all over the place including one over the batter’s eye at First Data Field. By the look he has in his eye this Spring, Cespedes looks like he may put together a better run than he did when he first joined the Mets in 2015. Seeing how he’s playing now, it is tough to rule that out.
Certainly, with improved seasons from the aforementioned five players, the Mets should have enough to overtake the Nationals once again and win the National League East. When you take into account bigger contributions from players like Lucas Duda and Juan Lagares or with young players like Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, or Gavin Cecchini being ready to contribute the minute the Mets call them up to the majors, this team should do better than the 87-75 record from last year. They should do better than the Wild Card. Maybe, just maybe, they can do better than the 2015 team.
Hector Gomez of Deportivo 101 reports Rafael Montero has made the Mets Opening Day roster.
Yes, that Montero.
The very same Montero who has a career 1-5 record with a 5.15 ERA and a 1.636 WHIP. The same Montero who the Mets gave up on four times last year including a demotion to AA. The same Montero who was 0-1 with an 8.50 ERA and a 2.053 WHIP last year.
Apparently, Montero has more lives than a cat. He gets more chances from the Mets than Bobby Bonilla gets paychecks from the Mets.
One thing that is easy to forget is Montero has real talent. He has a fastball with some movement that he throws in the low 90s but can get up to the mid 90s. He combines that with a terrific change, and he has developed a nice slider. And believe it or not, Montero had terrific control.
Mostly, that control made him a big time prospect for the Mets. He was ranked higher than fellow 2014 call-up Jacob deGrom who would win the Rookie of the Year award that year and do so much more after that. He was ranked higher than Michael Fulmer who won the Rookie of the Year Award last year. Simply put, depending on who you asked, Montero was ranked higher than any Mets pitcher not named Matt Harvey.
But then the control left him. It started during his 2014 call-up. He shied away from contact posting a 4.7 BB/9. In his brief major league career, he has a 5.4 BB/9 including a 7.6 number last year.
That’s been the issue. It’s not that he doesn’t have the talent; its that he doesn’t trust his talent. It’s certainly understandable when you allow two homers in his first ever start. In fact, Montero allowed homers in his first five starts including his allowing three homers to the Washington Nationals.
Whether it was the homers, better umpiring, a shoulder issue [the Mets disputed], or something else all together, Montero never truly trusted his stuff at the major league level, and as a result, he never had the success people thought he would.
This Spring he once again looks like a pitcher who trusts his stuff. In 18.1 Spring innings, he has a 1.96 ERA and a 21:8 K/BB ratio. He’s looking like the guy who was considered a big prospect. He’s looking like a major league pitcher.
And that’s what he is again – a major league pitcher.
There have been glimpses here and there with Montero only for him to shrink from the moment when he makes the majors again. After his AA demotion last year, Montero had a 2.20 ERA, 1.102 WHIP, and an improved 3.5 BB/9 in nine starts. He looked like he put it all together then only to fall apart in the majors.
Maybe, just maybe, Montero sticks this time. Maybe he trusts his stuff so he doesn’t have the same regression. Maybe at 26, he’s finally ready. Maybe he appreciates this could be his last chance.
Hopefully, he succeeds. If he does, the 2017 Mets are that much better. If he succeeds, it gives the Mets more excuses to not give up on talented prospects that struggle. Mostly, it would be great to see a truly talented pitcher pick himself off the mat and fulfill his promise.
Good luck to Montero. He’s going to need it.
After the 2013 season, Curtis Granderson was really a free agent for the first time in his career. While Granderson was always durable, he was coming off an injury plagued season that was the result of getting hit by two pitches. In the prior to season for the Yankees, Granderson was coming off consecutive 40 home run seasons. In fact over that two year stretch, Granderson led the majors with 84 homers. With that in mind, Granderson was one of the most coveted free agents on the free agent market.
To that end, it is surprising that a player like Granderson who had mostly played for good teams in his career would opt to go a Mets team coming who never had a winning record since moving to Citi Field. Moreover, it was surprising that a power hitter like Granderson was so willing to move to the cavernous dimensions of Citi Field.
And yet, Granderson signed a four year deal to become the Mets right fielder. Why?
Well as Granderson told MLB Network during their 30 Clubs 30 Days feature on the Mets, “I was optimistic it was going to happen. Sandy Alderson and the Mets organization told me about the young guys – the Matz’s, the Syndergaard’s, I had see Harvey, the deGrom’s – and all of a sudden here they are. Not only are they here but they’re here to stay. They all piggyback off of each other and do an amazing job.”
Either Sandy did a great job selling, or Granderson just has an eye for talent because heading into the 2014 season things were not that optimistic.
Matt Harvey‘s incredible 2013 season was cut short with him needing Tommy John surgery. Noah Syndergaard was not yet dominating in the minor leagues despite having terrific stuff. Steven Matz was just coming back from pitching after what had been an arduous Tommy John rehabilitation.
Now, Zack Wheeler was coming off a promising season, and Rafael Montero promised to be the next big thing. While Granderson mentioned Jacob deGrom, if we are being honest, no one knew what he was yet. Certainly, not the Mets as they had deGrom lower on the depth chart than Montero.
Despite all of that, Granderson was right, it has all worked out. Even better, the Mets have pitchers like Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo who have developed into good pitchers while Granderson has been a Met. Behind them are pitchers like Thomas Szapucki and Justin Dunn.
Back in 2013, this was the image of the Mets Alderson presented to Granderson. To his credit, Granderson bought in and signed with the Mets. To Alderson’s credit, he not only delivered, but he keeps delivering.
As Granderson enters the last year of his four year contract, it is important to remember he was the first free agent that believed the Mets could one day be World Series contenders. Not only did he sign with the Mets based upon that belief, but he has also been an important contributor to this Mets team both on the field and in the clubhouse. In many ways, the Granderson signing was a pivotal moment. It was the time that the Mets starting the process of going from a rebuilding team to a World Series contender. It was also the time when someone started believing in this team.