Paul Articulates – Otta boy!

The Mets got off to a shaky start this season, underachieving to the HUGE expectations of Mets fans.  After 101 wins but a disappointing playoff run, and then some high finance maneuvering by the front office, the team sent a very strong roster to Miami to start the season.  But after a few weeks, they were hovering around .500, had some injury issues and several players stumbled out of the starting gate.  Even now, with Verlander still on the IL, Diaz and Quintana gone for the season, Carrasco struggling to find his former velocity, and a few hitters fighting with the Mendoza line, all is not well in Metland.

But I’m not here to whine about that – you can find plenty of that on social media or your text feed.  I’m here to talk about a guy who for a second year in a row is giving the Mets quality outings almost every time he climbs the mound.  That would be Adam Ottavino, the Fireman of Flushing. 

Last year, working primarily as a setup man to all-world closer Edwin Diaz, Ottavino posted a 6-3 record with a 2.06 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in the regular season.  He held opponents to a .204 batting average with a four pitch arsenal: sinking fastball, cutter, slider, and change.  The out pitch is his wicked slider that is tough to hit even when you know it is coming because of its tendency to dive down and away from right handed hitters.  

This year he has started out with the same kind of reliable relief outings, but in a very different environment.  Diaz is gone, and Buck Showalter has taken a slightly different approach with the back end of his bullpen.  Instead of using newly acquired David Robertson exclusively as a closer with Ottavino as his set-up man, Buck has gone to a more situational approach.  That means that with a dangerous part of the lineup looming in the eighth, Robertson may pitch there and Ottavino is asked to close.  Other times the traditional set-up / closer relationship is used.  Either way Adam Ottavino has come through.  In seven games (6 innings), he has recorded a 1.50 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.  His slider is just as good this year as last, and he seems to be placing his fastball better to set up the out pitch.  At home he has been a fans’ delight, giving up no earned runs at all in three games.  

The biggest weakness in Adam’s game right now is his ability to hold runners on.  This has always been an issue, but with the new rules limiting both throw-overs and the amount of time a pitcher can hold before throwing a pitch, runners definitely have an advantage.  This is why a statistic like WHIP is so important – if you don’t let runners on base, you don’t have to worry about them stealing.  And that seems to be the winning formula this year, with runners taking advantage of almost all the pitcher/catcher duos out there.  

Adam Ottavino is doing some of the best pitching of his career right now.  He has been in the league since his debut with the Cardinals in 2010 so he has seen his share of action.  But the ERA over the past two years has far surpassed his career total of 3.42.  I think the combination of experience and some very helpful tweaks by the Mets’ pitching coaches have made his deliveries more effective.  And with it comes confidence – that all important ingredient in baseball that separates players of similar skill levels.

So, Mets fans – this team has some work to do but rather than focus on the disappointments, take pride in some of the solid performances and tip your cap to Adam Ottavino.