On Sunday, the New York Mets announced that Jacob deGrom would miss his next start. In his first appearance of the season deGrom struggled with lat tightness, and he was removed after six innings. Logan Verrett will get the start in deGrom’s place against Miami.
David Lennon noted that the Mets are hopeful the weather was partly to blame for deGrom’s struggles. It was 47 degrees during his first start. DeGrom seems hopeful that he will only be forced to miss one start due to this issue.
Jacob deGrom says he feels considerably better. Just being cautious. No plans for MRI. Expects to miss only one start.
— Adam Rubin (@AdamRubinMedia) April 10, 2016
There were already concerns about deGrom this spring because of an apparent dip in his pitch velocity. Last season his fastball averaged 94-96 mph, but in his first start it averaged 92 mph (per Brooks Baseball). His fastball wasn’t the only pitch to experience this dip. His slider was 3-4 mph slower than a year ago, and his curveball was also 3-4 mph slower.
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Last season the 27 year-old deGrom became an All-Star for the Mets. He started thirty games and accumulated a 2.54 ERA. His 205 strikeouts were good enough for 15th best in all of baseball. A very encouraging development was the drop in his BB9 rate. In 2015, deGrom was able to drop his BB9 to 1.8 while keeping his strikeout numbers around his career average. All of these accomplishments led to deGrom finishing 7th in Cy Young Award voting.
During New York’s playoff run last season deGrom was responsible for three wins prior to the World Series. He beat the Dodgers in the first and fifth game of their best of five, and he held Cubs’ hitters at bay in New York’s game two win. However, in his one World Series performance he struggled. In game two against Kansas City he surrendered 4 runs over 5 innings. He also only struck out two hitters, but that was somewhat expected given the Royals league low K%.
The Mets likely have one of, if not the, best starting rotations in baseball. Yet, there have been concerns about the health of the rotation this season. Matt Harvey has already struggled, and he gave up three runs in a loss to the Phillies today. Zach Wheeler, who was expected to return from Tommy John surgery in July, is scheduled to have a minor followup surgery. In contrast Noah Syndergaard has looked great in 2016, and Bartolo Colon is poised to pitch as many innings as needed.
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However, for the Mets to reach their full potential this season they’re going to need the bulk of the rotation to stay healthy. If the early season has been any indication this will be a story to watch throughout 2016.