Sometimes it’s tough to tell who the true ace is in New York. Most people agree that it’s Matt Harvey, and I definitely won’t argue with that. He has the stats and the bulldog must-win mentality to back it up. Since Harvey was first called up to the majors, he single-handedly gave the Mets and their fans hope for the future. He was the starting pitcher for the National League in the all star game during his first full season in the big leagues, and is becoming the face of the franchise with captain David Wright still battling back injuries. They do call him the Dark Knight for a reason.
But then there’s Jacob deGrom. The right hander exploded onto the scene last season being rookie of the year when he didn’t even pitch for the entirety of last season. He’s been dominant from Day 1 when he faced the Yankees, to last night when he blanked the San Diego Padres for 8 innings, giving up just two hits and struck out eight. He retired the first 15 hitters he faced, and for a while he looked like he was going to do what Johan Santana had done three years before yesterday in throwing a no hitter, but it was broken up in the 6th inning. In his last 23 and a third innings, deGrom has given up just 9 hits, 2 runs, has walked zero and struck out 28.
That is simply remarkable.
It’s even more remarkable when deGrom hit a rough spot in late April when he had the worst start of his career in Yankees Stadium against the New York Yankees, and then had a couple rough outings, one against the Washington Nationals and another in early May against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. The great pitchers don’t let rough outings stick in their heads and let it get to them. They know how to put that past them, move forward, and go back to doing what they know they’re capable of doing, and that is what Jacob deGrom has done. He’s making his case to be considered the co-ace of this young New York Mets’ staff and with him, Harvey, and now Noah Syndergaard pitching the way they are, they are becoming the most exciting starting rotation in the Major Leagues. You just know that when one of them are on the bump, something special could happen on any given day.
The lanky 26 year old right hander has now pitched to a record of 6-4 with a 2.41 earned run average, has walked just 13, and struck out 71 hitters in his 71 innings of work this season.
