Tom Brennan: PAUL SEWALD, FRANKLYN KILOME, & JUSTIN LASKO

Most of the time, as deep-in-the-weeds Mets fans, we see guys do well for a bit in the minors and see sugar plums dancing in our heads.

Many times, our optimism is simply pie in the sky.

Especially for a guy who has previously failed.

But sometimes, it is a matter of time and enduring some speed bumps, before driving on Success Lane.

Paul Sewald was a really strong minor league reliever for the Mets.

I personally thought he could excel as a Mets reliever.  

I was pie-in-the-sky.  Strawberry Pie, as any Mets fan would tell you.

Then Sewald went 1-14 as a Met, getting worse year by year.

I recommended he leave town on a Jeff Bezos rocket, just to make it quick.

But in fairness, did the Mets ever score for him when he relieved?  Very little.  

Bad hitters make pitchers' records worse.

Just ask Jerry Koosman, who went 11-35 over 2 seasons for putrid-hitting Mets' teams when, had he instead pitched for the BEST hitting NL team, he might just have gone 35-11 instead.

Heck, Tylor Megill was 1-2 as I wrote this, despite a 3.20 ERA, in NINE starts.  One win in 9 starts.  SMH.  

Put him on the Astros and maybe he'd be 5-1 instead. 

But back to Sewald...Paul goes to Seattle and becomes a relief pitcher juggernaut:

A 7-3 record, with 64 Ks in 38 innings.

So, sometimes, failures can become successes just like Paul.

Franklyn Kilome needed Tommy John surgery right after the Mets got him from the Philles a few years ago and, when he returned in 2020, he pitched briefly for the Mets in his MLB debut - and stunk.

He wasn't good in AAA this year either.  Then he missed 8 weeks due to Mets Syndrome.  

Me?  I was looking for a bus to throw him under.

The bus I threw Sewald under was available.

But since he came back, in relief, in late July, Kilome has thrown 7 innings of 2 hit, 1 run ball, stopped walking guys, and has fanned 9 in AAA.  Hmmm.....

I am not saying he will be - but maybe he'll be the next Paul Sewald.  

I told the bus to leave the area.  

Go pick up some Phillies and Braves instead, I suggested.

I DON'T KNOW WHETHER TO LAUGH OR CRY NOTE:

Three exiled Mets pitchers - Sewald, Flexen (another Sewald boomerang-from-failure-to-success guy), and Wheeler are 28-14 in 2021.   28-14.  Wow.

All 3 have been successful and healthy.  316 innings.

Meanwhile, the supercali-fragile-istic Mets have had 35 guys (including 2 hitters) pitch for them so far in 2021.  More than in 1969 and 1986 - combined.

The Mets had thrown 936 innings as I write this.  So that works out to 27 innings per pitcher this year.  In mid-August.  

And being this close to first place, with gosh-awful hitting, and as using many pitchers as migrants crossing the U.S. border every 5 minutes (which is a lot), is not a miracle?

Maybe more miracles lie ahead.  Maybe Kilome becomes part of that miracle.  My brother says no - but I say, "Why not?"  As I point out to him, Paul Sewald and Chris Flexen have had rebirths - why can't Kilome?

This has been one weird season.  

So...why not write this article for Friday the 13th?

LASKO ALERT:

Justin Lasko was a 30th rounder in 2019.  Only 20 rounds these days. So maybe he gets passed over if his draft arrival was in 2020 or 2021 and not 2019..

Anyway, he wasn't passed over.  

After about 30 strong innings in 2019, he threw zero innings in 2020 (we all know why).

In 2021, though, in a season that started a month after the MLB fellas, the 6'4", 210 righty already has 94 innings, 92 Ks, a 0.95 WHIP, and is 7-5, 2.39 ERA, and threw 7 shutout innings in his AA debut last night.

In 5 of his last 7 starts, he allowed no runs.  Kind of reminds me in that regard of the 2021 success of Josh Walker.

I guess life begins at 30 for Lasko.

Justin, we're watching - keep up the great work.