23
2011
Matt Harvey Is Dominating in St. Lucie
An article by 
Last season, the Mets went into the MLB Draft with the 7th pick overall. I’ll admit, that having such a high pick does increase the chances of getting a good to great prospect, and so far things couldn’t be better for RHP Matt Harvey. When the Mets selected Harvey, questions arose about how he will translate his success as an amateur to the major-league level.
Now that Harvey has had some time to get his feet wet as a pro, it appears he seems to be doing one thing particularly well. That “thing” is winning.
Currently, after another solid start last night, Matt Harvey is 4-0, with a 0.00 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 22 innings pitched. A the beginning of this week, Harvey had already won his first award as a pro when he was named Pitcher of the Week for the Florida State League (FSL).
Right now he is absolutely on fire. I know I’m stating the obvious, but if he keeps overpowering hitters the way he has in Single-A, he could end up making it to the major leagues faster than you can say Mississippi. For now, Binghamton is probably his next stop, and most likely already on speed-dial at the moment – thats how dominant Harvey has been So far, the future looks bright.
That said, I do hope more than anything, that the Mets don’t rush him. No, no, no, no,no…
A talent like this could be a potential top-of-the-rotation starter, and I think Sandy Alderson and the Mets need to take things slow. We don’t want to pull an Omar Minaya and rush him to the major-leagues as we did with Mike Pelfrey.
Let me show you his stats of all 4 starts to give you a better look at how dominant Matt Harvey has been in the month of April. (courtesy of milb.com).
Start #1:
Against: Palm Beach Cardinals
IP: 5.0
K’s: 9
Hits: 5
Walks: 2
Start #2:
Against: Fort Myers Miracle
IP: 6.0
K’s: 8
Hits: 3
Walks: 2
Start #3
Against: Fort Myers Miracle
IP: 5.0
K’s: 3
Hits: 2
Walks: 2
Game #4 (Last Night)
Against: Charlotte Stone Crabs
IP: 6.0
K’s: 7
Hits: 4
Walks: 2
He has yet to give up an earned run in 22 innings pitched!
It’s still early and a lot could happen, but so far Harvey looks like one heck of a pitching prospect.
Lets keep it that way.
Rushing him may only lead to yet another fail. Lets actually develop this one the right way.
About the Author: Brandon Butler
Brandon is currently a MMO Minor League Staff Writer. He is also the co-host of the Mets Madness Podcast on Talkshoe Radio. Brandon lives in Hornell, NY.
8 Comments + Add Comment
NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 28 | .600 | - |
| Nationals | 34 | 35 | .493 | 7.5 |
| Phillies | 34 | 37 | .479 | 8.5 |
| Mets | 25 | 40 | .385 | 14.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 47 | .319 | 19.5 |
Last updated: 06/18/2013
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I live in Pelfrey’s home town. I was a fan of him at Wichita State too. I would say that Big Pelf’s struggles at the big league level have more to do with pitching in New York rather than rushing him to the majors. After all, Doc Golden was rushed to the majors… and on the field I think he did O.K.. He just wasn’t ready socially, but that comes with maturity. And remember that guy Scott Kazmir that our organization thought was a few years away? We traded him to Tamp Bay, and they proceeded to bring him up to the show within weeks… I think he did pretty O.K. too.
If Harvey can help, bring him up sooner than later. He’s not getting any younger.
That’s just my opinion.
@BrianK: Yeah your definitely right about Kazmir and Doc. They were brough up early and had great success. As far as Pelfrey goes, i personally think that it is alittle of both. Now that i think about it, Strasburg was kindo rushed too, but is still rather successful, besides the Tommy John Surgery. He only spent a 1 and 1/2 in the minors before he was called up.
@chris: Honestly, i agree. Its basically high school kids, and or college graduates playing in Single-A. But still, you never know who or what your going to deal with. We will have to see how he deals with minor league/major league guys in Binghamton.
Harvey is a college pitcher pitching to mostly high schoolers. Lets see how he does at a higher level before getting too excited. It’s a nice start yes, but it doesn’t look like he’s been challenged yet. We’ve seen great starts like this before Humber, Mulvey and most recently Holt.
Agreed.
I think he needs to move up to AA soon. He’s not going to get any growth work were he is now. Let Wally stretch him out against some savey hitters who live for Green Horns like this…..Did I just say that???? Green Horns??? LOL
This is another reason for the Mets to blow this team up,and get another top 7 pick in the draft? By getting rid of Beltran Reyes and Rodriquez and Maybe Wright, you can guarantee a top 5 pick. Plus supplamental picks would surely help in the rebuilding of this team? Then with a healthy and younger future with lots of top end propects to add to the major team. I have faith that if given top end draft picks this management will make this team a major force. There is already some good talent in the system,but no reason to push. Let Mejia get 25 starts in Buffalo,let Familia and Harvey get 15 starts in High A,before moving to AA. Let Santana take his time coming back,unless you can unload his contract let him build his arm up and be ready for 2012 and 2013? But as a fan support your team,watch the minor league box scores and be patient.
Not only should he not be rushed but he should be gift wrapped and sent to spend some time with a Tom Seaver to school him on being a professional and to refine his mechanics. We have seen far too many young stud pitchers come and go because of poor mechanics that led to arm injuries over the years!
Thats a great idea, Alan. Maybe even include Koufax. They should have those 2 guys spend time,talking and explaining professionalism too the young Mets. Start in PSL.
You have to remember that Harvey is new and most of the guys he has faced has not seen him, are young and inexperienced, and have not had time to adjust to what he does. In A ball the competition may not be good enough to make those adjustments.
He needs a full season in the minors, even Gooden got that! It would be fine to promote him to AA (and maybe later AAA) before the season is done but it would be a mistake to promote him to the Majors this year.
If in the next two games he continues to blow away the competition then I would promote him to AA and see how that goes. If he continues to do the same there then a promotion to AAA would be in order sometime in July/August so that he has some AAA experience going into the offseason and a decent look at in ST.
Promotions should be based on Merit but it is not wise to skip a grade especially for a pitcher. Better we test him at each level, see what he does, and promote based on merit as opposed to any deficiency we percieve on the ML roster.
There is such a thing as keeping a kid down TOO long but rushing him is also a quick path to failure.