February 19, 2014

Mets Fans Ready To Jump The Gun On Syndergaard

The first overreaction of the spring has already made an appearance.  Next supposed pitching sensation, Noah Syndergaard, threw his first official bullpen of the year and fans are instantly demanding his start the season with the big league club.  Terry Collins did nothing but fan those flames when he giddily told the media that Thor checked in a 97 mph with "a hook from hell".  And so it begins...

Syndergaard is easily the best pitching prospect the team has, who is yet to make his debut.  He has great stuff..perhaps even better than his predecessors.  However, there remains no need to rush him.  The fact that Syndergaard has thrown just 54 innings above Single-A ball appears to fall on deaf ears.  And while its fair to assume that the Mets delaying his arrival is at least in part due to the Super Two deadline, giving him some time against advanced hitters in Las Vegas isn't a terrible idea.

The Mets have been relatively fortunate with their first two phenoms.  Injury aside, Matt Harvey has assumed the role of ace.  Despite some control concerns in his freshman season, Zack Wheeler appears more than capable of handling the big league stage.  Each appear poised to contribute for a long time to come.  Noah Syndergaard appears destined to round out the trio.  If his lives up to the hype that precedes him, the Mets could feature one of the better rotations in baseball for years to come. However, that remains to be seen.

Past success is not a guarantee future success.  Prospects fall flat.  Although that's not likely the case with Syndergaard, a bit more seasoning won't hurt him.  The Mets are not in dire need for a starting pitcher, so there is no legitimate need to rush him.  Mets fans like to say, why not experiment with a player since the Mets are unlikely to contend this year (think Wilmer Flores at shortstop).  The same applies to Thor.  If the Mets aren't going to make a run, don't put your shiny new toy at risk for the sake of selling tickets.  At the very least, lets wait for him to face a few actually batters before anointing him the next super hero of New York City.

1 comment:

  1. There is no real need to rush Noah Syndergaard. Let's see what he can do at Binghamton and/or Las Vegas the a late season call up. I've been a Mets fan since 1962 so I've seen the prospects come and go, we can hold on for 2015 with Noah.

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