Team Has a Ton of Pitching and Yet Not Enough.

There is no debate that the future of the Mets is through their starting rotation, aka, Generation K 2.0. Harvey, Wheeler, and Syndergaard are going to be Top 10 pitchers in this league going forward. However, we're still in 2013, and for the now the team is in big trouble in terms of finding starters to get them through the season.

Current Rotation	2013 IP	2012 IP	Estimated Remaining Starts
Matt Harvey	171.2	169.1	4
Zack Wheeler	131.2	149.0	7
Jonathan Niese	89.0	190.1	N/A
Dillon Gee	145.0	109.2	N/A
Carlos Torres	45.0	53.0	N/A

With Mejia's recent injury, the team is now going to have to move Torres back into the rotation. The organization generally does not like to jump a prospects innings Year over Year by more than 30 innings. Based on this information we can see that Harvey only has about 4 starts remaining based on a 7 IP/Game average. With approximately 8 starts remaining per starter there is no way Harvey can make it to the end of the season. Wheeler on the other hand could be ok. Normally you would just expand your roster on September 1st and run with a 6-7 man rotation for the rest of year but oddly enough the Mets organization does not have that luxury this year.

Firstly, there are NO replacements left on the 40 man roster.

Replacements on the 40 Man	2013 IP	2012 IP
Jenrry Mejia	15 Day Disabled List
Jeremy Hefner	15 Day Disabled List
Johan Santana	60 Day Disabled List
Hansel Robles	82.1	72.2

The Mets have 4 remaining starters but they are all injured or, in Hansel Robles case, no where near MLB ready. Instead lets look at some replacement arms in AAA, and Noah Syndergaard, who are NOT on the 40 man since we have 2 open spots from the Valdespin and Puello suspensions.

Replacements NOT on 40 Man	2013 IP	2012 IP
Jacob DeGrom	140.2	111.1	0
Rafael Montero	138.2	122.0	2
Noah Syndergaard	114.2	103.2	3
Chris Schwinden	131.1	137.2	N/A
Giancarlo Alvarado	83.2	----	N/A
Matt Fox	94.0	26.0	N/A

Well DeGrom would be a perfect addition, as he is Rule 5 Draft eligible and needs to be protected, but he's already reached the "shutdown point" as he is +30 innings from prior year. Montero as well only has about 2 starts left before he reaches shutdown point and Syndergaard has only 3 starts. None of these guys are going to be viable options either.

So it looks like we are unfortunately going to be stuck with Schwinden, Alvarado, or Fox for a few September starts. But wait.....Las Vegas is in the thick of a playoff run being only 1 GB 1st place in the PCL Pacific South. Well shoot, that means we're unlikely to call ANYBODY up until September 3rd when season ends or maybe not at all if the 51's go all the way. Well how about we call up some re-inforcements from the AA team? Nope they just clinched their playoff spot. Port St Lucie?, Nope in playoff hunt. Savannah? nope. Anybody? Not unless you want to dip all the way into the Rookie Leagues.

In my opinion, I think we'll see DeGrom get pushed for a few more innings and then see the 51s run with a 4 man rotation in the playoffs with Giancarlo Alvarado getting the call to join the big league club to be replace by Binghamton's Jeff Walters. Harvey will make 2 more starts on normal rest and then 3 more starts in a 6 man rotation with Alvarado. Even with that though, Harvey won't make to the end of the season, which will also likely end his hopes for a Cy Young unless Kershaw gets hurt or completely implodes down the stretch.