The Mets added to their collection of right-handed relief pitchers when they traded closer Jeurys Familia to the Oakland A’s. One of the two players we received was a hard-throwing 26-year-old named Bobby Wahl. Due mainly to his age, fans and writers assumed he’s a non-prospect, but perhaps he’s a late bloomer?
The Virginia native is 6’2″, 210 lbs. but possesses the fastball of a much bigger man. His heater consistently hits the high 90’s with a lot of natural movement. His top secondary pitch is a slurve that still could use some refinement. Wahl rose quickly through the minors, striking out more than a batter an inning at every level, but he got stuck in AAA for a while, mainly due to control issues. While his K/9 rates have been impressive, his BB/9 rates have been an issue. Wahl is not prone to the long ball and he doesn’t give up a ton of hits. If the Mets can help him work on his control, he could be a keeper.
Last season, after blowing away AAA hitters to the tune of 28 strikeouts in just 25 innings pitched, Wahl got his first taste of the big leagues, but struggled some with the A’s. In seven relief appearances, spanning 7.2 innings, he allowed eight hits and four walks, but did strike out eight. This season, between the A’s and Mets AAA teams, Wahl has been sensational, sporting a 2.20 ERA over 38 appearances with 73 strikeouts in 45 innings. His 19 walks are still a bit concerning, but he appears ready to contribute.
Last night he made his Mets debut, facing two batters in the eighth inning. After getting Adam Duvall (yes, he’s a Brave now) to pop out in the infield, Wahl struck out Johan Camargo on a nasty curve ball that left the batter shaking his head.
Along with Jacob Rhame, Tyler Bashlor and Drew Smith, Wahl should have plenty of opportunities in August and September to audition for next season’s bullpen.
Let’s call him Fireball Wahl.
Wahl wasn’t on the 40-man roster prior to being called up. They DFAd Kevin Kaczmarski to make room for him.
Maybe Wahl’s a piece for next year – hard to tell after one appearance. But I’d put his chances above Jacob Rhame. We’ve seen 27 appearances from that guy and the results are not good. To me, Rhame’s a DFA candidate, too.
Wish we could get a look at Callahan but he’s been on the DL. Anyone know if he’ll make it back this year?
Callahan is out for the year; had shoulder surgery in June after rest didn’t help.
The Mets sure cornered the market on young fireballing relievers. Aldersonian thinking in quantity will prevail over quality because throw enough at a wall and something will stick. That’s why between the 51s and the Mets, they lead the world in AAAA players.
Gus, that’s pretty spot on. Alderson’s track record with building a bullpen has been pretty atrocious. He admittedly doesn’t believe in spending big on relievers but has continually swung and missed on second tier and project guys.
🙂
The 2019 pen needs to be a top priority (along with the other 5 or 6 top priorities). Lugo, Swarzak, and Gsellman look to be useful pieces but none look like game enders or even 8th inning regulars on a first place squad. So, 2-3 imports are basically required, and these choices will impact the team beyond 2019. Guys like Wahl and Smith are interesting but certainly should not be counted on for prominent roles. One thing we saw first hand is that throwing 95-97 is nice but it is no guarantee of success.
Its hard to argue with that, except I would say the team has 3 top priorities:
Pen, a younger more athletic team that can play defense, and more consistent offense.
I cant say one is more important than the next. Each loses games for us every day.
Yes, and while. Yielding a pen from imports is very hit or miss, the adding of positional offense and defense simultaneously is the hardest part. Essentially, a player that doe both well will not be given up by another team, and free agents that demonstrate both and are not named Harper or Machado tend to be past prime. So, our lying ownership will have to change its colors in order to accomplish this for 2019. Possible, but unlikely to remote.
In my eyes it shows the real work in front of the new GM. Over at MMO one of the absolute dyed in the wool ra-ra guys is totally fed up with the garbage coming out of Ricco. In my eyes, the team needs to face the world with a clear culture of honesty, not the obfuscation we have had to see for many years now. When I hear “contender in ’19” all I hear is how easy that is to say, but not being forthright in what needs to be done.
In my eyes, the bull pen is the back part making a team better. If this team cannot catch, throw, run, and score the bull pen means nothing. More talent is necessary, and is the hardest, but it *needs* to happen. And as you say, pens are so hit/miss, which makes me think you grab for the hot iron (Chapman, Kimbrel) when you need it.
I’ll make it clear: I dont think Frazier or Bruce have any way to be a big help for the team. I dont want to see Bruce in RF unable to play it well, or at 1B where he cant/wont play. Frazier is ok at 3B, but a shadow of his former self. I dont believe in Plawecki at C, and dont feel excited about signing Mesoraco. I dont think Nimmo or Conforto in CF is a plus.
Strikeout numbers are so inflated as to be almost meaningless now.
Funny how things sometimes turn out. A deal we almost all panned might turn out to a great one for the Mets! Imagine if Wall is our new closer and if Toffey after his surgery develops into a solid 3B. Baseball is a funny game.
Probably worth seeing more than 1 outing.