Pitching dominates the game of baseball today. Pitchers are getting bigger and throwing harder, and teams are starting to stock their pitching rotations with power arms who can throw multiple pitches.
The New York Mets, however, are taking that philosophy to the next level.
Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler and Noah Syndergaard. Those are the four pitchers in the Mets organization who the front office hopes will take the team to new heights in the future.
All four are younger than 27, possess dynamic repertoires and have already experienced plenty of success in their professional careers.
Oh, and don’t forget about 24-year-old Steven Matz – the seventh-best left-handed pitcher according to MLB.com – who continues to thrive at Triple-A Binghamton. Mets ESPN writer Adam Rubin reported back on June 9th that Matz’s promotion was “getting close”
So right there is the Mets’ five-man rotation of the future. That quintet has the talent and potential to be one of the most effective and overpowering rotations in all of baseball. Each of those five throw a fastball that reaches the low-to-mid 90s and can devastate opposing hitters with their breaking pitches.
Matt Harvey, 26, is the ace of the staff. He has the longest track record of success in the majors, and has established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball. Even though he has gone through a rough stretch of late, his numbers are still terrific.
He is currently 7-5 with a 3.18 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 93.1 innings of work. His explosive four-pitch mix of a fastball, slider, curveball and changeup makes it easy for him to keep opposing hitters off balance and off base.
Harvey is eligible for arbitration after this season and can be a free agent after the 2018 season. When you mix his talent and youth with the fact that he is represented by Scott Boras, he could be looking at a huge payday. It will be interesting to see if the Mets attempt to lock him up long term in the near future.
Jacob deGrom, 27, looks much different than Harvey when he is on the mound, but he is actually pretty similar. He throws the same four pitches that Harvey does with about the same velocity, but his best pitch is his changeup.
DeGrom, the 2014 National League Rookie of the Year, has gotten a swing-and-a-miss on approximately one-quarter of the changeups that he has thrown so far this year, according to Brooks Baseball. He, like Harvey, has averaged one strikeout per inning, a testament to how dominant of a pitcher he is.
Zack Wheeler, 25, is currently in recovery from Tommy John surgery and has not pitched at all this year. It seems like a broken record at this point, but Wheeler sits in the mid-to-high 90 mile per hour range with his fastball, and throws a wicked curveball and slider.
He generates ground balls at a very high rate, and also gets plenty of swings and misses. His whiff percentage on both of his breaking pitches is more than 14 percent, per Brooks Baseball, which is more than most pitchers get on those pitches.
The last two pitchers in this outstanding rotation are both youngsters who don’t have much big league experience. Noah Syndergaard is 22 years old, Steven Matz is 24. Both started the year off in the minors. Syndergaard has since made his debut and impressed with his overpowering arm, while Matz is still waiting his turn.
Syndergaard – or “Thor,” as they call him – is the hardest thrower of the group. He has averaged 98 miles per hour with his fastball in his eight starts this year, and while his 4.03 ERA leaves much to be desired, he will likely find his groove sooner rather than later.
While Matz hasn’t recorded an out yet at the big league level, he has showed plenty of promise to scouts. Here is an excerpt from his prospect profile on MLB.com:
“Matz is lean, lanky and loose, firing mid-90s fastballs with ease and having the ability to reach back for more when he needs it. He throws it with sink, not only missing bats, but also generating groundball outs. His changeup is his best secondary offering, which he turns over and sinks very well. His curveball has gotten better, a big breaking ball he can keep down in the zone and is now a Major League average pitch. He doesn’t hurt himself with walks, and his overall command has improved over time.”
He will be up soon, if Rubin’s report holds any merit, and when he comes up expect him to follow his fellow Met pitchers to greatness.
And in addition to the five aforementioned names, the Mets also have veterans Jon Niese and Bartolo Colon to turn two. Each are durable starters who might not be as talented as the other five, but they are consistent and can fill in the gaps when the youngsters need days off or go through rough stretches.
Also, the bullpen in Queens isn’t too shabby.
Bobby Parnell and Vic Black are fireballers who can work the middle innings, Jenrry Mejia can be a competent reliever when he is not suspended, and Jeurys Familia has done a marvelous job – 19 saves and a 1.38 ERA – since taking over the closer’s role. Jack Leathersich and Sean Gilmartin are two solid left-handed relievers who can play the matchups.
In other words, the Mets are absolutely loaded with pitching. They have an abundance of not only solid pitchers, but overpowering pitchers who throw really, really hard. In the future – when Wheeler returns from injury and Matz gets called up – the Mets are going to have five ultra-talented power arms in their rotation and plenty more in the bullpen.
Opposing teams will know that they are not going to get to take any breaks in a three-game series, and that even if they catch the starter on a bad night, there is plenty of ammunition in the Mets’ bullpen to make up for it.
Moreover, they will have to earn every run that they get against the New York Mets.
Even in an age where power pitchers seem to grow on trees, the Mets are currently the premier pitching team in the MLB – and that is definitely something to admire.
Maybe even envy.