Reese Kaplan -- Spring Training Pitching Thus Far

Well, it may appear as if the starting rotation glut will resolve itself as a second straight alarming outing by Steve Matz suggests he may not be 100% healthy.  If so, then your starting rotation begins the year with Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jason Vargas and perhaps Jacob deGrom.  That would then open up bullpen slots for potential swing men/spot starters like Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, and Rafael Montero.

In the bullpen you know for certain that Jeurys Familia, AJ Ramos, Anthony Swarzak (if healthy) and Jerry Blevins will be there.  After that it gets fairly murky as there have been some mediocre auditions by some folks in Spring Training.   

Let’s start with the good news first:

Paul Sewald – At times last year Sewald looked every bit the quietly dominant pitcher he’d been throughout his minor league career until he was overused by the braintrust then in charge.  This spring he’s back where you’d want him to be, throwing to a 2.25 ERA though he has given up 6 hits in his 4 IP.

Corey Taylor – The big man is actually performing better this year than he has in his minor league career.  He’s been in 4 games and has yet to surrender a run.  He’s not on the 40-man roster, though with David Wright still inexplicably occupying a slot there the possibility exists to add a non-roster player.

Matt Purke – After a late start due to illness in the beginning of camp, Purke has only appeared in 2 games but he's been flawless thus far.  Given the lack of lefties on the staff, he’s got a leg up due to his southpaw capabilities. 

Chris Flexen – Although he was pretty much awful during his 2017 forced audition, he’s been quite capable thus far, having only given up 4 hits in his 5 IP.  Since he’s always been a starter and there are a plethora of right handed options I would expect that no matter how well he does he’s ticketed to be part of the 51s’ starting rotation.

P.J. Conlon – Until yesterday the Irish starter turned reliever was not looking as if he was adapting well to his new role.  However, with three scoreless innings to close out the game against the Nationals on Sunday he lowered his spring ERA to a tidy 2.70.  It's not beyond the realm of possibility he comes north with the club, but I'm more inclined to think they will try to keep Rafael Montero who is out of options until injury, ineffectiveness or a trade occurs to open up a roster spot.  If Conlon spends a month or so and does well out of the pen he's likely to get an early call up despite never having pitched in AAA before.  After all, the club shouldn't plan on going the full season with just a single lefty in the pen.  Of course, he's not yet on the 40-man roster so that will work against him.

Then we have the less-than-stellar crew:

Taylor Bashlor – If only he could harness his control, then we’d be doing cartwheels about his ability to get strikeouts seemingly at will.  He had a rare 1-2-3 outing just recently, but he’s not pitched above AA before and at best would be expected to be in the Las Vegas pen.

Jamie Callahan – Part of the haul for Addison Reed, he’s demonstrating his live arm but with mixed results.  His 4.50 ERA isn’t terrible but the 4 hits in 4 IP is a bit of a concern.

Kevin McGowan – He cleared waivers when bumped from the 40-man roster.  Maybe the other GMs are pretty savvy as he’s not acquitted himself well thus far, pitching to a 30.86 ERA.  Ouch!

Marcos Molina – This former highly regarded starter is working his way back from TJS and the rust shows.  He’s given up a lot of hits and runs while offering up a 6.75 ERA.  He’ll be in the minors for sure.

Jacob Rhame – The bespectacled former Dodger farmhand has also been hittable, having given up more hits than innings pitched.  His 4.50 ERA is middle of the pack.

Hansel Robles – The once promising reliever was banished to AAA last year after they finally grew exasperated with his gopher balls.  Thus far this spring it’s not looked good for him and given the fact he has options, I’m betting he’s not coming north.  6 hits in 4 IP and a 9.00 ERA. 

Drew Smith – The man with the best resume of all of the relievers obtained during the selloff, he’s had a bit of a rough audition as well.  He’s only given up 2 hits in his 3 IP, but he’s sporting an unimpressive 6.00 ERA and is not yet on the 40-man roster.  He has AA or AAA in his future. 

There’s a huge wildcard in all of this bullpen speculation.  The 22 year old Gerson Bautista has never pitched above A ball, but he’s certainly opened a lot of eyes already with his 100+ mph heat and his ability to retire batters easily.  His career numbers suggest it’s not a fluke with a four-year minor league ERA of just 2.62 but like many power arms he struggles with control.  He is on the 40-man roster and it’s possible they may aggressively promote him (which, since the Jenrry Mejia situation back in the Jerry Manuel days) is not normally in the Mets’ collective DNA.  I’d expect him to start in AA and see how he handles closing duties. 

There are a few lefties on the minor league side of camp – Kyle Regnault and David Roseboom – but their chances of going to Queens to start the year are about on par with Sears turning a profit.  It’s possible, but highly unlikely.