19
2012
It’s Time To Give Justin Hampson A Shot In The Mets Bullpen
An article by 
Citi Bound?
With the Mets obvious need for quality relief pitching, especially in pressure situations, what would you say if I told you there was a guy who could step in and step up, and do a fantastic job for the Mets right now? What if I told you he wouldn’t cost anything, not in salary or in players or compensation, but would merely have to be added to the 40-man ML roster?
What if I told you that he is a game-tested veteran with major league experience and success, and that he is left-handed as well? But what if I told you that despite his obvious ability to get lefties out regularly, that he also does well enough to get righties out as well, and so is not limited to the LOOGY role in the pen, but could be a functional crossover reliever from the port-side?
Is that a player you would be interested in for the Mets? Kind of a bookend reliever and additional lefty to go along with Byrdak? Someone who could get the Mets big outs, and still leave options open for TC to find adequate match-ups throughout the game? Someone who is already right under our noses?
Just ask Buffalo manager Wally Backman what he thinks of this guy who he has called upon to pitch more innings than any other reliever in his bullpen this season. For some reason the Mets have so far passed over this pitcher when it came time to promoting relievers from Buffalo this year. But that is about to change soon due to the fact that Buffalo reliever Justin Hampson is simply pitching his way to the big leagues these days.
After successful stints in the big leagues with San Diego in 2007 and 2008, in which he combined to go 4-4 with a 2.78 ERA in 74 games, he suffered a shoulder injury that caused him to miss most of 2009 and all of 2010. He resurfaced last season to log a full year for the Mets pitching at Buffalo, but did not get the call. In 2011 throwing for the Herd he went 3-3 with one save, and a 3.41 ERA in 58 innings. Now with a full, healthy season under his belt, Hampson is pitching with confidence and guile in 2012, and has been arguably Buffalo’s most consistent reliever. He is able to once again command his full arsenal of pitches and the results have been absolutely eye-popping.
This season in 25 games covering 38.2 innings, Hampson is 4-1 with two saves, a 1.86 ERA, and a 40/14 K/BB ratio. While right-handed batters are hitting just .245 against him, lefties are at a paltry .191 batting average, but the thing you notice when Hampson is pitching is not his blazing fastball. What strikes you is how the guy changes speeds, changes eye levels for the hitters, mixes locations and movement on his pitches. The result? Hitters can’t seem to square this guy up.
You see lot’s of frustrated opponents cursing or screaming in frustration as they transverse the field on their way back to the dugout after failing to hit the ball hard against Hampson. Many a bat gets pounded into the dirt after a hitter has been tantalized with a Hampson offering, only to come up empty. I have no doubt that this guy could be a valuable piece, and a first step towards the restructuring of the Mets putrid bullpen. C’mon Sandy lets not wait any longer, Hampson is not the type of player who needs to get more seasoning. He’s a seasoned veteran, and he’s ready to contribute, so let’s give him a shot.
Let’s Go Mets!
About the Author: Peter Shapiro
The first time I went to Shea was not for a Mets game, it was for the Beatles concert there in August of '66. My first Met game was '67, a guy named Salty Parker was the interim-manager then. My first pennant race was 1969. As a 12 year-old that summer and fall, I managed to get to the park for 3 games. The first was the beginning of the Miracle which actually started on Tuesday July 8, 1969 with a day game against the Cubs. I was there a lot in '73. I saw games 3 & 5 of the 1973 NL Playoffs against the "Big Red Machine", from the upper deck behind home plate. It was from there that I witnessed the fight between Bud Harrelson and Pete Rose, and the mayhem that ensued. And that sweet victory in game 5! I saw a couple of WS games at Shea that year against that legendary Oakland A's club. I was there in 1985 for every single game Dr. K pitched including his two 16 strikeout performances, and the day he one-hit the Cubs on an infield single and the Mets won 1-0. I loved being a Met fan in those days. Hopefully we are once again preparing to emerge from the darkness.
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You’ve convinced me, but does Alderson know about him? Does DePo? Does GKR and KB? All they seem to want to talk about is the same 5 prospects, but have any of them done their due diligence like you apparently have? Our bullpen sucks and Batista is now our official setup man. That’s all you need to know. Solid post.
Considering both DePo and Alderson were in San Diego when Hampson was, I’d say they do know about him.
I don’t understand why Hampson been overlooked for this long. He has been solid in Buffalo since he was acquired last season and I don’t see why the Mets can’t roll the dice with him. We have the pieces as it is to build a formidable bullpen instead of trading for this guy and that guy. It’s about time they put it in motion if they wanna swim with Washington & Atlanta instead of sink with Miami & Philly.
So any chance we have Hampson, Mejia, and Beato up here before September call ups? That’d be very fresh for the bullpen and help out big time.
It must be a reason why mets haven’t called him up
NIce piece. The rest of the Bullpen should follow.
Justin is one cool dude and he made my day over the weekend when he wrote the site and told us “Your site is great and I read your posts everyday. Keep up the great work!”
Then he mumbled some nice things about some guy named Pete, but the point is that he reads all our posts daily.
Nice to be recognized Joe! Tell Egbert that New Jersey is rooting for Him.
I would guess that part of the reason he has not been up yet is the continued issues with room on the 40 man roster.
But, right now, you could definitely say it makes sense to send Elvin down and figure out a way to get this guy up.
and speaking of the pen in general, it might be time to give 3F (Francisco) some props. he really has turned his season around (or got it back on track).
he had those couple of well publicised bad outings (early in April Atl/SF, then the famous weekend in Miami), but since then, he has been very good.
5/14 – 6/17: 13 games, 1.35 ERA, 8/9 saves converted, 15/4 K/BB ratio, and a whip below 1 (only 9 hits allowed). And on the season, 16 saves/3 blown (84%)
so, might just be time to at least get off his back, at least if he can keep up something close to this pace!
No clue what the hell happened to cause Ramirez to fall off the cliff. And Rauch has not inspried much confidence (though his last outing was stellar, in a huge pressure spot). really wonder if he was/is more hurt then they are letting on (with the elbow?)
But, while the 3 worst offenders in the pen are gone (though who know when ramon comes back), adding mo ‘betta arms is still a good thing!
I have to wonder if poor Wally has started to think twice about talking about how good his players are because the second he praises them we tend to take them away to play in the MLB! LOL
I read an article a few weeks ago with him saying I almost dread the phone ringing because it’s usually Terry or Sandy calling to rape him for more talent!
LOL
i miss pedro but not martinez i miss feliciano
Speaking of which….has he even pitched since leaving the Mets? Ever since that squabble Feliciano and the Yankees had with the Mets last year, I’ve heard nothing about him.
I think he hurt his shoulder, Yanks tried to blame Mets, yup you sign a LH pitcher that has made more appearances than anyone and you sign him w/o checking him out?
Problems with 40 man roster rear themselves again.
[...] (LHP) – If you missed my piece on Hampson earlier in the week, you can check it out with this link. He has been one of the most effective relievers anywhere in the Mets system this season, and has [...]
[...] (LHP) – If you missed my piece on Hampson earlier in the week, you can check it out with this link. He has been one of the most effective relievers anywhere in the Mets system this season, and has [...]