The New York Mets Can Learn from the St Louis Cardinals

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

With the St. Louis Cardinals two wins away from the World Series, the New York Mets could learn a lot from this Cardinal team.

Now the Mets are not and never will be the St. Louis Cardinals. They have committed to system vastly different from the one in St. Louis but one thing is in common: young pitching.

The Cardinals have gotten to a World Series anchored with guys like Michael Wacha, Trevor Rosenthal, Shelby Miller, Carlos Martinez and Joe Kelly, who are all 25 and under. These pitchers have led the way this season and postseason to get the Cardinals to a 2-1 series lead in the Fall Classic.

Sandy Alderson and Co. can take notes. The Mets too have young pitching, including guys like Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard who are very close to the big league level.  The Giants have done it with young pitching. The Tampa Bay Rays have also had mild success with young pitching anchoring their team. Alderson can have the Mets doing the same thing, and soon.

Zack Wheeler, Dillon Gee and Jon Niese are the top three pitchers the Mets have entering 2014. Couple that with guys like Jenrry Mejia, Montero and Syndergaard and the Mets are not far off from the rotations of these other teams. Add to that the fact that Matt Harvey isn’t on this list. A potential 2015 rotation of Harvey/Wheeler/Niese/Syndergaard and Montero with Mejia and Gee in the bullpen gives much hope to the Flushing faithful.

This Mets team can make great steps during the off-season that can help them compete in 2014. Adding a veteran like Bronson Arroyo or Dan Haren can add great depth to a pitching staff. St. Louis also mixed and matched their bullpen all season long. That is the same strategy that the Mets are trying to install. Guys like Bobby Parnell and Vic Black are staples of the pen, but the rest will differ on a year to year basis.

So, for two teams with very different strategies and talent levels, it seems that the Mets are not far off when it comes to pitching. Soon, it could be the Mets and Cardinals battling it out for National League championships. All that means, is good baseball for everyone. Because who wouldn’t like to see Matt Harvey face Michael Wacha in game 7 of the NLCS. I’d sign-up right now to watch that. Flushing will soon become relevant again, and it falls all on the young arms to make the Mets matter again.