By Gus Livaditis August 28, 2020
It isn’t a stretch to say that the Mets rotation needs a talent like Seth Lugo. After Zack Wheeler took his services to the team that wanted him more than the Mets, Noah Syndergaard needed corrective surgery on his pitching elbow, Marcus Stroman decided to stay safe at home this year, and Steven Matz has had to struggle to find his best self, the Mets rotation has been worrisome after Jacob DeGrom pitches. Yes, there are glimpses from all pitchers: Rick Porcello will give you four good innings and one explosion of offense by putting too many pitches in the hit zone; David Peterson has done well but the lack to familiarity will wear off as he will keep facing the same teams again and again; Michael Wacha has been knocked around by Atlanta and Miami to the tune of a 9.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP after dominating a sleeping Boston team; and the combined four starts of Corey Oswalt, Walker Lockett and Robert Gsellman have produced a 7.07 ERA and 1.71 WHIP.
The problem is that if you put Lugo in the starting rotation, who closes? Edwin Diaz has had issues pitching the ninth inning, for whatever reason. Diaz’ pretty 2.45 ERA and 20.45 K/9 overall, are 4.26 ERA and 22.5 K/9 in the 9th inning this year. While all the indicators are that Diaz is due for some good fortune, his .556 BABIP in the 9th inning is actually better that his .571 BABIP in his five appearances in the 8th inning.
Other candidates are Jeurys Familia, Dellin Betances, Justin Wilson, Brad Brach, Jared Hughes and I will include Drew Smith.
The problem is that if you put Lugo in the starting rotation, who closes? Edwin Diaz has had issues pitching the ninth inning, for whatever reason. Diaz’ pretty 2.45 ERA and 20.45 K/9 overall, are 4.26 ERA and 22.5 K/9 in the 9th inning this year. While all the indicators are that Diaz is due for some good fortune, his .556 BABIP in the 9th inning is actually better that his .571 BABIP in his five appearances in the 8th inning.
Other candidates are Jeurys Familia, Dellin Betances, Justin Wilson, Brad Brach, Jared Hughes and I will include Drew Smith.
– Familia has battled consistency with a 1.54 WHIP in 12 innings but a decent 8.8 K/9;
– Betances also has a bad WHIP at 1.56 in 9 innings and an alarming 7.0 K/9 for such a historically dominant pitcher;
– Wilson has a 7.27 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP in 8.2 innings;
– Brach has started pretty well with a 1.69 ERA and a 8.4 K/9 but owns a 1.50 WHIP;
– Hughes has also had a nice start with a 3.38 ERA, a manageable 1.22 WHIP but only a 6.8 K/9;
– Smith has a 3.00 ERA in 6 innings, a 0.833 WHIP, and a 9.0 K/9.
So, if we want to keep Lugo as a starting pitcher, we need to manage the end of games with these pitchers and that will probably create drama. On sheer numbers, Diaz is still the best choice. The better set-up guys appear to be the 7th inning guys, Smith, Hughes and Brach, while the 8th inning guys Wilson, Betances and Familia have been inconsistent. However, as the Mets approach the halfway mark of the season, how long can you keep waiting for pitchers to right themselves?
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– Betances also has a bad WHIP at 1.56 in 9 innings and an alarming 7.0 K/9 for such a historically dominant pitcher;
– Wilson has a 7.27 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP in 8.2 innings;
– Brach has started pretty well with a 1.69 ERA and a 8.4 K/9 but owns a 1.50 WHIP;
– Hughes has also had a nice start with a 3.38 ERA, a manageable 1.22 WHIP but only a 6.8 K/9;
– Smith has a 3.00 ERA in 6 innings, a 0.833 WHIP, and a 9.0 K/9.
So, if we want to keep Lugo as a starting pitcher, we need to manage the end of games with these pitchers and that will probably create drama. On sheer numbers, Diaz is still the best choice. The better set-up guys appear to be the 7th inning guys, Smith, Hughes and Brach, while the 8th inning guys Wilson, Betances and Familia have been inconsistent. However, as the Mets approach the halfway mark of the season, how long can you keep waiting for pitchers to right themselves?
Continue reading by clicking here. Don't miss Mets360 Game Chatter during tonight's games.
Diaz, Familia, Wilson and Betances MUST step up.
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