Mets Hopeful Strong Pitching, Hitting Will Lead to Success in 2017
New York Mets manager, Terry Collins addresses the media before the Mets play the Cardinals on March 5th.
Sharpe L. Marshall // Ball State Spring Training
Tommy Gruszkowski / Ball State Spring Training / March 28, 2017
The expectations are high again this season for the New York Mets.
After losing to the San Francisco Giants at home in the National League Wild Card Game in 2016, the Mets believe they are ready to bounce back.
“We have a good team. We have a very, very good team,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “We have arguably the best starting pitching in the major leagues with our five guys if they stay healthy.They’re all strong, they’re all powerful, they’ve all got secondary pitches that they can throw for strikes.”
One key component to the Mets rotation in 2017 is Matt Harvey. Once considered the ace of the pitching staff, Harvey is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2016 season, where he went 4-10 and had season-ending surgery in July. The surgery was to address thoracic outlet syndrome, a group of disorders that occur when the space between the collarbone and first rib are compressed.
Harvey returned to the mound this spring, and is currently 0-4 with a 5.89 ERA, striking out 16 batters in 18.1 innings pitched. For Harvey, there is room for improvement before the start of the regular season.
For the Mets, Harvey is not the only star pitcher returning from injury this season Jacob deGrom is coming off elbow surgery last September. So far, the right-hander is 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15.1 innings of work.
The hope is that a healthy Harvey and deGrom can complement Noah Syndergaard, who will likely be at the top of the Mets starting rotation in 2017.
Overall, the New York Mets began with 35 pitchers at spring training, and only 12-13 that will make the opening day roster.
One player who was reassigned despite his rather impressive spring is submarine pitcher Ben Rowen, who signed with the Mets in December. It’s his sixth organization since 2010, but he’s happy where he has landed.
“This is a great spot to be, so I’m pretty excited about it,” Rowen said.
Rowen said he’s adjusting and learning from his time with the Mets and is in a good spot moving forward.
“Luckily here, I have some experienced coaches and they’ve helped out a lot, just kinda picking their brains,” Rowen said during an interview in early March. "It’s pretty tough, in a sense finding all these different coaches along the way, just picking one thing here and there and kinda implementing that into the process.
“There’s a lot of things that have worked. Some haven’t, and you know that’s just kinda how it is. It’s been going well so far.”
While the Mets pitching is strong, the offense will need to step up as well. Their most vital hitter may be outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who signed a four year contract worth $110 million in December. The contract gave the right-handed slugger the top average annual salary for an outfielder at $27.5 million. Last season, he hit .280 with 31 home runs and 86 RBIs.
Cespedes hasn’t missed a step this spring, currently hitting .395 with five home runs and 10 RBIs. He also has an OPS of 1.216 and
Collins is confident his team’s offense will produce in 2017.
“We’ve got a veteran lineup. We’re a team that’s built on power,” Collins said. “Re-signing [Yoenis] Cespedes is a big move for us; we get [Lucas] Duda back. We’ve got three, four guys in our lineup, you know, Curtis Granderson hit 30 [home runs], [Cespedes] hit 30, we should score some runs.”
The Mets open the season at home against the Atlanta Braves on April 3.
The expectations are high again this season for the New York Mets.
After losing to the San Francisco Giants at home in the National League Wild Card Game in 2016, the Mets believe they are ready to bounce back.
“We have a good team. We have a very, very good team,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “We have arguably the best starting pitching in the major leagues with our five guys if they stay healthy.They’re all strong, they’re all powerful, they’ve all got secondary pitches that they can throw for strikes.”
One key component to the Mets rotation in 2017 is Matt Harvey. Once considered the ace of the pitching staff, Harvey is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2016 season, where he went 4-10 and had season-ending surgery in July. The surgery was to address thoracic outlet syndrome, a group of disorders that occur when the space between the collarbone and first rib are compressed.
Harvey returned to the mound this spring, and is currently 0-4 with a 5.89 ERA, striking out 16 batters in 18.1 innings pitched. For Harvey, there is room for improvement before the start of the regular season.
For the Mets, Harvey is not the only star pitcher returning from injury this season Jacob deGrom is coming off elbow surgery last September. So far, the right-hander is 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15.1 innings of work.
The hope is that a healthy Harvey and deGrom can complement Noah Syndergaard, who will likely be at the top of the Mets starting rotation in 2017.
Overall, the New York Mets began with 35 pitchers at spring training, and only 12-13 that will make the opening day roster.
One player who was reassigned despite his rather impressive spring is submarine pitcher Ben Rowen, who signed with the Mets in December. It’s his sixth organization since 2010, but he’s happy where he has landed.
“This is a great spot to be, so I’m pretty excited about it,” Rowen said.
Rowen said he’s adjusting and learning from his time with the Mets and is in a good spot moving forward.
“Luckily here, I have some experienced coaches and they’ve helped out a lot, just kinda picking their brains,” Rowen said during an interview in early March. "It’s pretty tough, in a sense finding all these different coaches along the way, just picking one thing here and there and kinda implementing that into the process.
“There’s a lot of things that have worked. Some haven’t, and you know that’s just kinda how it is. It’s been going well so far.”
While the Mets pitching is strong, the offense will need to step up as well. Their most vital hitter may be outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who signed a four year contract worth $110 million in December. The contract gave the right-handed slugger the top average annual salary for an outfielder at $27.5 million. Last season, he hit .280 with 31 home runs and 86 RBIs.
Cespedes hasn’t missed a step this spring, currently hitting .395 with five home runs and 10 RBIs. He also has an OPS of 1.216 and
Collins is confident his team’s offense will produce in 2017.
“We’ve got a veteran lineup. We’re a team that’s built on power,” Collins said. “Re-signing [Yoenis] Cespedes is a big move for us; we get [Lucas] Duda back. We’ve got three, four guys in our lineup, you know, Curtis Granderson hit 30 [home runs], [Cespedes] hit 30, we should score some runs.”
The Mets open the season at home against the Atlanta Braves on April 3.
