Mets: Matt Harvey’s Velocity Is Concerning, But Moreso Is His Command
New York Mets starter Matt Harvey has had his struggles since his rookie season in 2012, but his struggles now are the most concerning.
In 2013, he represented the New York Mets in the All-Star Game when he was chosen as the National League team’s starting pitcher.
He began being called the real “Dark Knight” of New York City as he dominated hitters with his high-90s fastball.
The next season everything changed as Harvey missed the entire 2014 season having to undergo Tommy John surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
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Despite his desire to come back earlier than the 12-18 months it usually takes to recover from that type of surgery, the Mets made Harvey take his recovery slow and it worked.
Harvey returned to the mound in 2015, making 29 starts and finishing the season having gone 14-8 with a 2.71 ERA while striking out 188 batters in 189.1 innings and posting a 1.09 WHIP.
His numbers were almost as good as they had been in 2013.
2016, however, brought another round of challenges for the Dark Knight. He made 17 starts, posting a 4.86 ERA before being shut down for the season in need of another surgery.
Harvey had thoracic outlet syndrome, which involves a surgery where doctors must remove a rib. It’s not a new surgery and many other pitchers have come back from it just fine.
Yet, this spring uncertainty surrounds Harvey’s right arm. His fastball velocity has been sitting around 92 MPH. He’s gone 0-3 in his three spring starts and has a 7.88 ERA.
Rival scouts and experts say that oftentimes it takes a while for a pitcher’s velocity to come back after this type of surgery.
Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen is predicting that it won’t return until at least the end of May. Manager Terry Collins is more worried about Harvey’s command than his velocity, which he too believes will return.
However, the despite the Mets’ claims that they are not worried about Harvey (Collins said he would reserve judgement on the 27-year-old right-hander until the end of spring) because this often happens to pitchers in his situation, they should still be concerned.
Until Harvey’s velocity returns, he will, like many other older pitchers in the league, have to reinvent himself as a pitcher, whether or not it returns.
There are no guarantees it will.
If Collins is concerned about Harvey’s command, then the Mets should be concerned about his velocity.
Harvey’s velocity was the main reason he was so dominant.
He’ll need to use his other secondary pitches to get hitters out but he’ll have to be able to throw them for strikes.
He’ll need his command of the ball to succeed.
Harvey’s velocity should be a concern for the Mets, but only if he can’t learn to precisely control his other pitches.
The fact that his velocity is expected to return at some point this season is great, but until then Harvey will have to find a way to get hitters out without that fastball by commanding his other pitches.
That should be the Mets’ main concern at this point.
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