JACOB deGROM, RHP
Player Data: Age: 28, B/T: Left/Right, Free Agent: 2021
2016 Primary Stats: 7-8, 3.04 ERA, 24 GS, 148 IP, 143 K, 36 BB, 1.20 WHIP
2016 Review:
Jacob deGrom‘s 2016 season was filled with inconsistencies. He dealt with diminished velocity and a back issue in spring training. Then, on the Mets Home Opener on April 8 against the Phillies, deGrom essentially removed himself from the start after six innings of one-run ball, after he felt tightness in his right lat.
Personally, deGrom and his family had quite a scare in mid-April, as their newborn son, Jaxon, had issues breathing correctly while he slept. The Mets placed deGrom on the bereavement/family medical emergency list while the doctors monitored his son. Once Jaxon was medically cleared to leave the hospital after five days, deGrom returned to the team.
DeGrom was strong the first half of the 2016 season, with a record of 5-4 and a 2.61 ERA in 15 starts. His 2.61 ERA was good for 8th best among all major league pitchers pre-All Star break.
By early September, deGrom would find himself at the worst stretch of his major league career, as his last three starts had combined totals of 14.2 IP, 16 earned runs, seven walks, four homers, and 31 hits given up. He went 0-3 in that three-game stretch, before the Mets pushed his next start back due to right forearm soreness. Hoping for his return for the final stretch of what would be a wild card berth, deGrom was shut down and underwent surgery to repair the ulnar nerve in his right elbow, after he felt pain while shagging fly balls in the outfield during batting practice.
The expectation is deGrom will be fully recovered and ready to contribute in 2017. Many have thought that the extended workload he faced in 2015, (191 regular season innings and 25 postseason innings) may have caused him his initial issues in spring. However, deGrom worked through whatever was ailing him, and still posted 16 of 24 quality starts in ’16, and used his slider and curveball more than he ever has in previous seasons, to make up for the lowered velocity.
Grade: B
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2017 Outlook:
If all reports are correct, deGrom should be ready to compete come spring training. Doctors assured him that his UCL ligament was in good shape, which was repaired in 2010 after his Tommy John surgery. The recovery time is said to be for three months, plenty of time for deGrom to get back into playing shape.
When asked if he thought he had been pitching all year with the nerve issue, deGrom reiterated that he felt it more recently, and it started as numbness in his finger, before feeling pain in the elbow.
Assuming good health, in order for deGrom to succeed he needs to cut down on the amount of walks he issues, (at 6% in 2016 compared to 5.1 in 2015), rebound from the reduced strikeout numbers in ’16 (K/9 in ’15=9.66, K/9 in ’16=8.70), and pitch better against right-handed batters, who in 2015 had an OPS of .475 compared to 2016 where righties hit .749 against him.
The Mets will be cautious with their starting pitchers who are returning from surgery next year, likely utilizing Seth Lugo, Robert Gsellman, and Bartolo Colon (if he returns) early on in the season. With a clean bill of health for ’17, a healthy son, and a reduced workload in ’16, I expect deGrom’s numbers to rebound closer to his All-Star season of 2015.
