Injuries provide opportunities and, for 23-year-old righty Robert Gsellman, it means a call to the big leagues as a member of the New York Mets.
Yet another promising pitcher is set to make his big league debut for the New York Mets, but not in the same way as the likes of Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and the many that came before.
The Mets announced the promotion of starting pitcher Robert Gsellman from Las Vegas on Monday. Except, the promotion comes with the condition that Gsellman does something he’s never done before: pitch in relief.
Source: #Mets promoting Gsellman. Will pitch out of bullpen, at least initially. Did not pitch in relief in minors.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 22, 2016
With the announcement that Steven Matz is headed to the disabled list, and Seth Lugo likely to take his start this coming Thursday, no room is left for Gsellman to take the mound from the get-go. That is until you realize Jon Niese is starting the series opener against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.
Drafted by New York in the 13th round of the 2011 amateur draft, Gsellman has made his name generating a plethora of ground ball outs, using a 93 mile per hour two-seam fastball and 12-6 curveball to mow through opposing batters.
Still, the 23-year-old is a work in progress. He dominated Class-A opposition to the tune of a 1.76 ERA in 2015 while stumbling ever so slightly following an early Double-A promotion, where he allowed 36 earned runs in 93.1 innings of work.
Additionally, the 23-year-old held a 5.73 ERA across nine starts with Triple-A Vegas this season. Hopefully, this particular statistic is more telling of the batters’ paradise that is the Pacific Coast League rather than the true talent of the young pitcher.
Nevertheless, in a season ravaged by injuries and disappointment, the Mets and their fans now have even more to look forward to as they chase the fifth and final National League playoff spot.