Every day the Mets move closer to starting the 2013 with only four rotational givens: Santana, Niese, Harvey and Gee. That leaves Mejia, Familia, Schwinden, Hefner and a certain fella named McHugh. You might be asking, “McWho?” but by the end of Spring Training I would hardly be surprised if Collin McHugh were to be anointed as the 5th starter in the rotation.
The reason why isn’t going to shock anyone. The #1 thing that the Mets need to replace from R.A. Dickey is the innings and McHugh’s control and 4-pitch ability allow him to be a pretty consistent (if not quite astounding) option. Though, a number of people were pretty happy with Dillon Gee who actually profiles as having a bit less “Stuff” than McHugh.
Fastball: 89-92 MPH (Tops out at 93)
Curveball: 71-74 MPH (Described as “Looping”)
Cutter/Slider: 84-86 MPH
Changeup: 80-81 MPH (Weakest Pitch)
McHugh’s 2012 was spent between AA, AAA and the MLB. His MLB numbers are not worth mentioning but they weren’t great. His AA and AAA stays are more on target for his development, so let’s take a peak.
- AA: 12 Games, 74.2 IP, 63 Hits, 1.071 WHIP, 2.41 ERA, 65 K’s and 17 BBs
- AAA: 13 Games, 73.2 IP, 60 Hits, 1.208 WHIP, 3.42 ERA, 70 K’s and 29 BBs
What does that bump in stats tell you? Well, that better hitters are going to walk more and score more against McHugh but he’s going to give up less than 1 hit per inning and a pretty credible 8.0 K/9 average. That’s better than quite a few pitchers who are expected to have brighter futures than he. Pay close attention to McHugh as he’s going through his reps this spring because come Summer you could be seeing more.
I agree with you. Following McHugh for the last couple of years I noticed it takes a bit for him to catch up to the league he is playing in but once he does he seems to really take off and becomes solid if not spectacular. Other players that kind of fall into this category in the last couple of years are Ruben Tejada, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Matt denDekker. I hope the latter two as well as McHugh can make the jump and sustain consistency. Maybe 2013 will be a good way to build some valuable(chips) or gain more building blocks for the home team.
People should really be watching out for
People should also be watching out for Aaron Laffey. I think he’ll be a significant part of the team next year
Honestly, I wonder what you see in Laffey. His WHIP – both minor and big league – have always been bad. He pitches to contact, and its not like we are fielding the equivalent of the SF Giants in the field.
Let’s say I hope you are right.
I’m not expecting him to repeat what RA did and win 10+ games next year.
But i think he can eat up some innings(starting and relieving) without hurting the ballclub. If you look at his WAR values, he’s never posted a negative WAR in his career. The title of this post is about darkhorses, and he is one in my opinion. Perhaps since he’s in the NL now, he’ll break out this season and post a 1+ WAR for the first time in his career.