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| deGrom leads bright future for NY. Photo Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images |
Though the New York Mets are having an underwhelming season so far to this point, the real bright spot for the club is the emergence of their young pitching prospects starting to make an impact at the major league level. We will take a look at each picture and how they will fit into the plans for the Mets moving forward.
By: Michael Hanley
The starting rotation is where we start as Jacob deGrom and Zach Wheeler have emerged as two young guns who have established themselves as some of the top rising stars in all of baseball.
Jacob deGrom has been steadily building up his profile since he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2010. He has since then progressed through the minor league system of the Mets and been proven to be successful at each one of those levels. He got his call up on May 12, 2014 to make his major league debut against the crosstown rival Yankees. He made quite the impression as he went seven strong innings and struck out six in a hard luck 1-0 loss to the Yankees. Despite the loss,deGrom made an impression that would not soon be quickly forgotten.
Since then, he has only continued to refine his pitches and make better choices of pitches in key situations. He knows what spots he wants to throw the ball at in the strike zone and he has accomplished that and more in that regard. His fastball has pop to it, his off speed pitches continue to become more of a weapon for him to use with regularity and have been proven to befuddle hitters at times. Even more impressive for the 26 year old is his ability to work deep into games.
For most of today’s young pitchers who are learning their craft in the big leagues, working deep into games is something they can only dream of. There can be a multitude of reasons for that, from getting caught up in wanting to rack up strikeouts to not knowing how to finish a batter off with one of their stronger pitches. Jacob deGrom has been the exception to that rule as he now will go seven innings in nearly each of his starts which not only helps him build experience in the majors, but also helps his teammates in the bullpen not get overtaxed.
Jacob deGrom figures to be a stalwart in the Mets starting rotation for many years to come. Can he become the ace of the staff eventually? That is a possibility especially with the pitches he commands and velocity at which he throws them at. Even If he does not become that dominating ace, he will at worst be a number two starter for New York & will be in line to generate a lot of success for himself & his team.
For Zach Wheeler, he has so far been a hyped and talked about prospect that has worked out for the Mets who at the time, they got him in a trade with the Giants, was bereft of elite pitching prospects in their farm system and need a quick infusion of that. He, much like deGrom, worked his way up steadily through the Mets farm system and made a big splash in his first start as a major leaguer. Instead this time around, unlike deGrom, Wheeler was able to come out on the winning side of his start vs. the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. He went six innings, gave up only four hits, walked five but also struck out seven in a debut that showed flashes of what he can become as a pitcher in the next few years.
There is no secret as to what type of pitcher Wheeler makes himself out to be, he is an all out power pitcher who can throw some real smoke by batters when he needs to. His fastball can be thrown in the mid to high 90’s with pretty good movement on it, running it in and away from hitters. He tends to lose a bit of steam on that pitch as he gets deeper into a start but still very effective as stated by the 130 strikeouts he has piled up this season, a team best. He does showcase a curveball that has some real bite to it and can fool hitters into chasing it for a strike. This pitch compliments his fastball perfectly and makes opponents have to really think about if they want to put a swing on it or lay off it. His secondary pitches of a slider and changeup are still works in progress, but over time they too can become weapons that Wheeler can deal to opponents for strikes routinely.
Wheeler has the pure talent and pitches to be the Mets ace someday, he just needs to continue on working on his secondary pitches and going deeper into games. He will battle with deGrom and Harvey for a frontline position on that starting pitching staff and will become a pitcher that can win 15-20 games per season if all lines up for him.
As far as the bullpen, two young pitchers have come in and completely changed the feel and performance of this group as a whole. Henry Mejia and Jeurys Familia have come up to the big club and provided stability and consistency to the setup man and closer roles respectively.
Henry Mejia started this season as a starting pitcher for New York. The Mets front office was hoping that Mejia could transition his electric velocity and pitches into a starting pitcher role and provide another young, power pitcher in the starting rotation along with Zach Wheeler. Unfortunately for both parties it did not pan out as he struggled with his control and ability to go deep into his starts.
A credit to both though in that the Mets stuck with him and did not just give up on him after a few bad starts. Instead they put him in the closer’s role and though at first he resisted being in that role, he has flourished as the closer. He has sealed the back of the bullpen and been able to use his fastball and off speed pitches effectively to get batters out routinely. This is a position that Mejia looks like the long term solution for and would be a luxury for the Mets to have locked up.
Jeurys Familia has been another Mets prospect that has worked out beautifully for the big club. After battling through a subpar 2010 season in the minor leagues and having surgery to correct tendinitis in his right elbow to deal with in 2012 he has emerged healthy and very effective as the setup man for Mejia this season. He has become better with his control of his pitches and has been able to maintain a solid 2:1 strikeout to walk ratio, very key for any pitcher, especially relief pitchers. He, like Mejia, has settled very comfortably into his role and is the long term setup man the Mets hope to count on for many more productive seasons.
So the Mets may not be making any plans for postseason play this season but in the next few years, watch out for them to be a team on the rise in the NL as their young pitching continues to mature and grow with each game they play in the major leagues.
