Taylor Buchholz Has Nasty Stuff

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Jose Reyes has faced right-hander Taylor Buchholz seven times in their careers. He’s 0-for-6 with a walk and two strikeouts.

Reyes had this to say about facing Buchholz,

“He’s got an unbelievable curveball,” Reyes said. “His breaking pitch was unbelievable. I don’t know how fast he throws now, but he used to throw 95, 96 mph with a big hook. So he was nasty. Hopefully he can be the same way here.”

Buchholz, had a tremendous season with the Colorado Rockies as a premier setup man in 2008 before his elbow gave out and needed Tommy John surgery. He went 6-6 in 63 appearances with a 2.17 ERA and 0.95 WHIP in 66.1 innings pitched, and he did it while pitching in the thin air of Colorado.

For more on Buchholz, check out this post from Joe D, where he writes:

It wasn’t long ago, that Buchholz was a highly regarded prospect who had a lethal 12-6 curveball that many scouts considered to be the best in the minor leagues at the time.

Buchholz was well on his way to becoming one of the league’s premier relievers posting a pristine 2.17 ERA and an even more remarkable 56/18 K/BB ratio over 66 1/3 innings with the Rockies during the 2008 season. I see no reason why we cant expect to see that kind of performance again, and perhaps an even stronger one given the pitcher-friendly park and improved defense.

I’m starting to get very intrigued about Buchholz along with Capuano and Carrasco as well

Incidentally, I must commend Adam Rubin on his extensive coverage of the Mets all offseason long and especially now at Mets camp. He is pumping out news and information about the Mets so fast, it’s a challenge to keep up with him. Nice job Adam!