Matt Harvey has a small tear in his UCL, but he has left a pretty large tear in the Mets pitching staff, that, until now, had given Mets fans a good reason to have hope in the future. Harvey had been making a very legitimate run for the NL Cy Young crown, although it seems like Cayton Kershaw has the award all but in his back pocket. The question is now, who is capable of picking up where Harvey left off, whether that be one person or a collective effort.
I would like to say that it is Zack Wheeler‘s duty to be that person, but as an up and coming prospect, I can see Wheeler taking that the wrong way. I can see Wheeler trying to throw harder and try to aim his pitches, the two pitching sins. And if Wheeler tries to throw harder (Wheeler’s fastball averages a speed of 94 mph, according to FanGraphs), isn’t there a possibility he suffers the same fate as Harvey? With the way Wheeler has been pitching recently, there looks to be a bright future. So why not wait until he comes around to an ace that he could potentially be? With the recovery time from Tommy John surgery usually around 10-12 months, what if Wheeler goes home in the off season, works with an intense training program, so he can prove to be the Opening Day starter in 2014? Wheeler has a lot of promise to him, and it would make sense not to rush it.
So if not Wheeler, then who? How about the two veterans, Jon Niese and Dillon Gee? In his three starts since returning from injury, Niese has allowed only six earned runs in 19 innings for an ERA under 2.5. Dillon Gee has been the most under appreciated in the Mets starter club this year despite the wonderful performance he has put on since the All Star break. In my mind, the veterans should lead by example, and step in when their services are needed most.
So Jon Niese and Dillon Gee, you’re up.
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I’ve been thinking about this, and just have a feeling about Gee. Gee is showing to be truly a “Pitcher”; changing speeds often and showing good control. Being the oldest, he may have a leg up on the Opening Day nod. With possibly Montero and Syndergaard coming to join Niese, Wheeler, and hopefully, Mejia, Gee could be the odd man out. He should bring back quite a bit if he’s healthy and traded in July.
this has me thinking about who actually will be our rotation on opening day
Niese
Gee
Wheeler
Mejia? (bone spur, Frank Frank…Im just sayin)
X
Neither Montero nor Syndergaard will be there on opening day. What if Mejia is not right? THis winter, we are gonna need to be pitcher shopping. Further, Wheeler will have an innings restriction. Pitching looks to be a real concern for ’14…and I cant envison dumping Gee right now given that.
Why not Montero … or for that matter, DeGrom? And we have the rest of this season to see if Carlos Torres can take some runs.
But you are right. We won’t be trading any starting pitching for hitters this off-season. Let’s go Matt Den Dekker!
I just cant see opening day 2014 with only 2 starters that have played a full MLB season. That has a recipe for 95+ Loss season. I expect SA to be active in the starters rust heap again, maybe Bronson Arroyo or Scott Feldman. Padres let go of Edinson Volquez yesterday…surely hes better than Dice K.
Based on the ERA of the 79 NL starting pitchers with 60 or more innings the Mets have three solid #3 pitchers in Wheeler 3.42 rank 30, Niese and Gee both at 3.69 ranked #39. Add Mejia who looked great and Montero and the Mets have a solid and better than average rotation. deGrom as early season injury insurance and Syndergaard as mid season injury insurance also gives them depth. September will also let Torres get an extended look, that if successful could make him a 2014 spot starter/long man. Sandy picks up a vet to a minor league contract for added depth.
Trading any of these pitchers before the 2014 trade deadline would weaken the rotation so the options for a bat via trade is more limited (or more risky). The offense is so bad I would risk trading one of Niese, Gee, deGrom or Montero.
I expect Wheeler to improve but Niese and Gee appear to be at their apex, and it is not a bad apex. Just let them pitch as themselves, it is plenty good enough.
Wheeler will be on an innings limit next year, especially in the context of Harvey this year. He is on a cap this year, which will be the same for Montero deGrom and Sydergaard in ’14. We also have no clue how they will perform. I think the rotation is in real trouble for next year, and I wouldnt be shocked if SA picked up 2 or 3 vets for next year. With the offense so bad, and yet our pitchers unable to remain healthy, it i a real struggle to see the right path for me. I agree, Niese and Gee are who they are. Wheeler is still a wild card…as might be expected from someone at this stage.
The innings cap doesn’t really seem to be a problem next year. It’s the start that needs to be watched.
Starting out we have Wheeler/Gee/Niese/Meija locked into spots if healthy. Ideally, you want to not start a rookie SP in the rotation right when the season starts and you want Torres as a 6th man/long man for insurance, so that means we need at least 1 person to fill in that 5th spot, for at least a month.
We know now The sandy blueprint is for a top prospect to get 20 starts at AAA. Rafael Montero has made 15 starts and is probably going to finish with 16. He should reach 20 by mid to late April, but the earliest they would call him is 3 weeks after the season so they can get an extra year of control on him. Syndeergaard hasn’t touched AAA yet and would probably follow Harvey 2012 which means he should be here by late July.
Gorski/deGrom are not top prospects so I don’t think they’ll be subjected to the same rules as Montero/Syndeergaard. At the very worst, they should be ready to take over late 2014 for anyone who has an innings limit.
Yeah but I don’t think we can expect anyone to step in and automatically become one of the best pitchers in the league
[…] So far, it has generally looked something like 3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 0 R. Although it might be unfair, Wheeler looks for all the world like he’s primed to step into Harvey’s considerable cleats – […]