Big news coming out of Queens. The New York Mets, who already added their pre-season top prospect Noah Syndergaard to the rotation, are adding their current top prospect to the rotation this Sunday.
Mets to call up Steven Matz, likely to make debut Sunday vs. #Reds http://t.co/VBXuw6MYuv
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) June 25, 2015
Steven Matz is head to the big leagues. The 24-year lefty who was drafted by the New York Mets in the second round of the 2009 draft is unquestionably Major League ready. He joins a rotation in New York that is full of promising stars in the making.
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Matz sits at 7-4 for the Pacific Coast League Las Vegas 51s. He has a commanding 2.19 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP and has struck out 94 batters in 90.1 innings. He has shown that he can handle the power happy prospects of the PCL, and limit them from scoring.
He has a three pitch arsenal highlighted by a mid-90s fastball and two very good secondary pitches. Matz has a very good changeup and a curveball that has improved each season. Matz doesn’t walk many people, and he isn’t so easy to get a hit off of limiting opponents to a .213 batting average this season.
Whether or not Matz will succeed isn’t the question. What New York Mets fans want to know is what this means for the New York Mets.
The Mets are reeling. They just snapped a seven-game losing streak and their offense is struggling. How can Matz help that situation? Is he here to add to the rotation or make someone else expendable?
One option Mets skipper Terry Collins can explore is returning to the six-man rotation. That didn’t work so hot the first time they did it, and it hasn’t really worked when other MLB teams have tried it this season. In Collins’ defense, it does seem like a rationale idea with so many young arms surrounding senior citizen Bartolo Colon, so limiting the amount of innings isn’t a terrible idea. It was the execution that didn’t seem to work, however.
Syndergaard has had one solid start sandwiched between three stinkers in June. Perhaps putting Matz in the rotation could send Syndergaard to the bullpen. It’s not likely, but it would be an option that keeps Syndergaard in the big leagues should they need a starter, and ensures that he would still throw an inning or maybe even two every other night or so.
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Maybe Jon Niese becomes expendable? The Mets certainly need offense. Michael Cuddyer is beginning to show his age. Lucas Duda who was batting .300 a month ago is down to .264. As a team they are in the bottom five in runs scored, RBI and batting average. This team has plenty of pitching in the rotation and they have some exciting pieces in place in the bullpen. Someone has to go.
Should Matz succeed, Niese, like former Mets stalwart Dillon Gee may be shown the door. Niese, despite having a down 2015, does have trade value especially at 28-years old and the trade deadline looming.
I’m not mind reader, and I certainly don’t have a crystal ball, but I don’t foresee a six-man rotation as the long term plan for Collins and the Mets. What they do in response I don’t know, but when the Steven Matz Era begins on Sunday, it could provide more clarity.