The Mets entered July on quite a roll, winning 6 of their first 7 on this crucial home stand. With good news on Noah Syndergaard‘s and Steven Matz‘ elbows, continued excellence from Bartolo Colon and resurgence from Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom, the Mets were out-pitching everyone. Now that the bats were waking up, we started to resemble the Mets from last fall again.
Well, hopefully the offense continues to surge, because between Matt Harvey’s suddenly sore shoulder and the setbacks that have delayed Zack Wheeler‘s return, we are suddenly looking possible spot starts from Logan Verrett, Sean Gilmartin or even Gabriel Ynoa during a critical stretch run. Colon and Syndergaard were scheduled to pitch the first two game of the Washington series. Matz, if he’s up to it, can pitch one of the two. The other start vs. Bryce Harper and company will come either in the form of a rookie debut (Ynoa) or a joureyan reliever spot start (Verrett, Gilmartin). Not ideal, but hopefully, we can get a solid enough start to keep us in the game and help us at least split the four game series.
Following the Nationals series at Citi Field, the Mets pitchers will enjoy a much needed four-day All-Star break. While Syndergaard and closer Jeurys Familia will join the National League all stars, they don’t figure to pitch much, especially since Terry Collins will be managing the team. After the break, the Mets have a 9-game road trip including three 3-game series against the Phillies, Cubs and Marlins. This is followed by a 9-game home series with three games apiece vs. the Cardinals, Rockies and Yankees.
The latest reports have Wheeler’s return pushed back until August. Meanwhile, somebody from among Verrett, Gilmartin and Ynoa is going to need to step up his game. July’s schedule is a bit daunting, but the Mets need to sustain this level of recent run support in order to keep on winning and gain ground on the first place Nationals.
At this point with this team, I don’t worry about who’s on the schedule. I worry more about how the team is hitting and how spent the bullpen is.
and now it’s official. Harvey is done for the year.
I’m surprised that a bigger deal hasn’t been made lately regarding Wheelers setback. I seem to remember every single day of Harvey’s TJ recovery was documented. Is it bc of the team’s pitching success or less hype for Wheeler?
I’m OK with Verett or Gilmartin as 5th SP but if another goes down (bone spurred Matz?) then it’s time to go shopping.
What happens with Loney when Duda comes back after ASG?
Duda is one of my favorite players but I’m not sure I see a real future for him here. Maybe he’s a trade chip
Well, part of that has to do with a team in 2014 that finished under .500 with not much to look forward to on a daily basis to one that’s actively competing for a division title or playoff spot.
As for Duda, we can worry about that when he’s actually ready to come back.
Duda goes to the bench…..keep Loney as starter. Bring up Ynoa.
What does everyone think about Lugo? Or (don’t kill me here) giving one more shot to Montero?
Montero has not been good at all this year and hasn’t merited to be in the discussion.
Having Logan Verrett pitch every 5th day is not the end of the world. This year his ERA of 4.01 is better than Harvey’s ERA. Of the 76 NL pitchers that have started and pitched 40 or more innings he would be ranked 34th among them in ERA. There are 42 pitchers starting in the NL with worse ERAs.
Gilmartins 4.48 ERA at Las Vegas is good for the PCL.
Ynoa has an even better 3.98 ERA in the same league.
I am not delusional and think these pitchers are better than Harvey but when you look at who is starting in the NL it becomes apparent that these three should be given a fair shot before a veteran retread.