Starting Pitchers
In
Noah Syndergaard, Bartolo Colon, Steven Matz, Seth Lugo
Out
Robert Gsellman, Gabriel Ynoa, Rafael Montero
Noah Syndergaard has established himself as the clear-cut ace of this depleted pitching staff. Maybe if deGrom or Harvey were healthy you wouldn’t see Thor in the Wild Card game.
Obviously, that is not the case, so expect to see Syndergaard on the mound if and when the Mets are playing for a spot in the NLDS.
After Syndergaard, Bartolo Colon has proven himself to be this staff’s number two. At age 43, Colon has logged 184.1 innings, a feat within itself, but has also pitched to an outstanding 3.12 ERA.
Colon’s finesse style of pitching has provided the Mets with a different style in a rotation that was once stacked with flamethrowers.
The Mets number three will hopefully be Steven Matz. Matz threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Saturday and is looking to return tomorrow. Should everything go to plan, Matz will be more than ready to pitch in his second straight postseason.
Last year in the postseason he pitched 14.2 innings over three starts, recording a 3.68 ERA. Matz’s experience from last year’s run should prove beneficial to the young pitcher, as many 24 year-olds don’t have any.
Should Matz not recover from his injury, Robert Gsellman would most likely take his place. Gsellman has pitched to a 3.08 ERA in five appearances (four starts) for the Mets. His lack of experience could be an issue but, then again, Matz only had six starts going into October last year.
Seth Lugo has definitely earned a spot in the postseason rotation. The right-hander has pitched far and beyond what anyone expected from him, pitching to a 2.35 ERA over 53.2 innings.
Lugo’s success hasn’t just come against the bottom dwellers of the league. In three starts against the Giants, Nationals, and Cardinals, Lugo gave up only four runs in 18.2 innings, good enough for a 1.98 ERA.
Ynoa and Montero were not considered for the third or fourth spots because they have not pitched well at a consistent rate.
