Having a brilliant, young pitcher should never be a problem. But with the New York Mets, things are always complicated. On one hand, GM Alderson is saying they are capable of 90 wins. Is this all smoke and mirrors, fluff to maintain his favor with the owners and fans? Or is he really that confident in his team? Does he perhaps know something or plan something we as fans don't? If so, the most logical piece to this puzzle is Noah Syndergaard.
Syndergaard was traded to the Mets along with Travis d'Arnaud in exchange for RA Dickey and random pieces. d'Arnaud already seems to be the starting catcher for now, while Syndergaard appeared to start in AA or AAA. But what everyone didn't expect, and I mean just about everyone other than Syndergaard himself, was for him to blow us away with his Spring Training. The one they call "Thor" has a fastball not too common, routinely hitting 95 and topping out at 98+. The previous years work shows good promise. The old fashioned stats show a future top level starter. The advanced stats reveal more about his bad luck from BABIP (batting average on balls in play) with an impressive K/BB ratio of almost 4/1.
The young 21 year old still has to refine his breaking ball though, which he could do if he were in the minors. But if the Mets were to bring him up in say, May, the expectations would be for him to complement Wheeler on the back end of the rotation. Before Spring Training, everyone was talking about the future for Syndergaard, yet after his 2 K start today in which he faced the Braves regulars, everyone must wonder not IF but WHEN he will make it to the big leagues this year. I do not expect him to break camp with the club but do expect him up before September. With a talent like his, no club wants to rush or waste it. I feel for Sandy Alderson and TC having to make that decision. Guess that's why they get paid the big bucks and I write a blog.
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