Reese Kaplan -- Doubleheaders Showcase Some Unknown Pitchers

One of the things that people wonder about while watching the Mets is the nature of experience of some of the players who are in “filler” spots on the roster.  Not everyone coming up through the system has the pedigree of Francisco Lindor or even Brandon Nimmo. 

Some have toiled in obscurity for quite some time and for whatever combination of reasons they ascended to the Mets roster despite not having necessarily shown the types of production metrics that catch your eye.

In Saturday’s doubleheader you saw not only the brilliant Jacob deGrom (and his strikeout-the-side reliever, Edwin Diaz).  You also saw a collection of pitchers who were not in the top tier of the fans’ minds.  

Starting the game was southpaw Joey Lucchesi.  He got to the Mets from the San Diego Padres in part of a three-team trade that included the Pittsburgh Pirates as well.  At the time no one was sure what to make of this move as Lucchesi’s 2020 season was at best forgettable.  He pitched to a 7.94 ERA and some folks were scratching their heads as to what the Mets saw in him.

  

To be fair, Lucchesi had two full seasons under his belt with the Padres during which he comported himself as a perfectly acceptable starting pitcher.  While his combined 18-19 record wasn’t going to send anyone to the fireworks store to celebrate the move with explosive panache, he did seem to have a knack at striking out people while maintaining reasonable control. 

His combined ERA over his 2018 and 2019 seasons was just a hair over 4.00.  While not All-Star worthy, pitchers of that nature populate the starting rotations all over baseball.  

He got off to a rocky start in Colorado yesterday as many pitchers do, giving up three runs in the first inning.  After that rude introduction to Coors Field he settled down, making a great many batters look weak against his pitch called the “churve.” It was, in fact, a fine enough recovery that had many folks wondering when they’d get to see him again.

He was followed by a pitcher who’d become something of a persona non grata for Mets fans -- Robert Gsellman.  After his very nice start as a rookie starting pitcher in 2016, it’s pretty much been all downhill from there.  He’s posted mediocre stats each year, including a horrific 9.64 ERA in 2020 before giving way to injury to end his season prematurely. 

However, on Saturday night he looked downright competent.  He does have a minor league option remaining, but that performance probably extended his major league lifespan for a few more games.

Unfortunately, all was not golden in terms of unknown pitchers.  Reliever Jacob Barnes was getting in trouble with batters making weak contact against him until little-known third baseman Josh Fuentes deposited a ball over the left field wall to put the game away for the Rockies.  The 28 year old got a late start in Colorado at age 26 and has had two bad and one good season thus far.  For Barnes, however, his seeming ability to induce weak contact deserted him.  

Barnes has bounced around between the Brewers, Royals and Angels before landing with the Mets.  Like Gsellman, he had a very nice rookie season but hasn’t been able to replicate that effort since 2016.  He’s definitely skating on thin ice.  

In the bullpen warming up in the game were sidearmer Trevor Hildenberger and former Yankee and Marlin Stephen Tarpley.  Hildenberger also followed that same pattern, a rock solid rookie year in 2018 followed by mediocre followed by downright awful.  He didn’t pitch in the majors in 2020 at all.  Given his unusual style of delivery, it’s understandable that the Mets would take a chance on him. 

Jeremy Hefner knew him from the Twins, so it’s possible he has more faith than most would given his stat sheet.  He did make it into the game and despite giving up a hit, struck out two and emerged with a shutout inning.  He’ll likely see some more time in games during which the Mets are either very much ahead or very much behind until they get a sense of what he’s capable of doing.  

Twice now the Mets have promoted Tarpley to be the 27th man on the roster for a doubleheader, but hasn’t gotten into a game.  He’s a strikeout machine when on the mound when he isn’t giving away free passes due to control problems.  He is very much the last guy in the pen.  

None of these pitchers have the cache of Edwin Diaz, Jeurys Familia, Trevor May or Aaron Loup.  One or more will be departing soon when Seth Lugo returns.  Another will be on the chopping block if Dellin Betances recovers.  All the y can do now is get into games and try to demonstrate to the powers that be what they’re capable of doing.  For now, it’s most definitely a mixed bag.