In just a few weeks at the big league level, New York Mets pitcher Robert Gsellman has shown great flashes of potential and many similarities to a current teammate.
It was just a few weeks ago when the New York Mets called up 23-year-old right-hander Robert Gsellman from Triple-A Las Vegas. This was a call-up with the express purpose to provide the Mets a new long relief or a spot starting pitcher, a role that Logan Verrett had with this team throughout the first four months of the season.
Since Verrett struggled mightily in that role and Gsellman was pitching fairly well in Triple-A, the Mets decided to give Gsellman a shot, and so far he has been everything the Mets could have hoped for.
Before coming up to the big leagues on August 23, Gsellman made 20 combined starts in both Double-A and Triple-A going 4-9 with a 3.99 ERA and 88 strikeouts. Even though those numbers weren’t flashy in the minor leagues this season for Gsellman, he has made the transition from the minor leagues to the big leagues very nicely so far.
RELATED: deGrom Expected To Miss More Time
Gsellman has appeared in three games for the Mets since getting called up, twice as a starter and once as a long reliever. In those three games, Gsellman is 2-1 with a 2.96 ERA along with 11 strikeouts and seven walks in 15.2 innings pitched.
Gsellman’s most recent performance came on Saturday night at Citi Field against the Washington Nationals. He enjoyed a fantastic start when the team really needed him. Gsellman lasted six innings and only allowed one earned run along with six hits, three walks, and four strikeouts to help the Mets towards a 3-1 win in a game that helped them gain a game on the St. Louis Cardinals for the second NL Wild Card spot.
With Gsellman pitching as well as he has so far and with some Mets starters dealing with injuries, both long-term and short-term (Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Steven Matz, and Jacob deGrom), it’s no secret that Gsellman will most likely continue to see the ball the rest of September.
With this being said, is it possible that Gsellman can possibly be a key starting pitcher in the big leagues down the road for the Mets? It definitely is possible and Gsellman certainly won’t be the first pleasant surprise this team has seen from their starting rotation these past few years.
He wouldn’t be the first surprise of this ilk because just a few years ago back in 2014, deGrom was in the same exact situation Gsellman is currently in. When he got called up, originally he was going to be a spot starter and a long reliever, but deGrom was so dominant in his first few big league opportunities, the Mets just could not take him out of the starting rotation and it seems like the Mets have a very similar situation now with Gsellman.
When deGrom was orginally called up originally he was going to be a spot starter and a long reliever, but deGrom was so dominant in his first few big league opportunities the Mets just could not take him out of the starting rotation. In fact, Rafael Montero was the much more anticipated prospect (when compared to deGrom).
Other than the hair, Gsellman seems to possess the same workmanlike quality deGrom has, and Mets fans are quickly taking notice.
Obviously, Gsellman has a ways to go. But for the time being, the early comparisons are real.
