By Violeta Pietronico
Noah Syndergaard, P
Player Data: Age: 27, B/T: L/R
Primary Stats: 32 G, 197.2 IP, 10-8, 4.28 ERA, 1 CG, 194 H, 101 R, 94 ER, 24 HR, 50 BB, 202 SO, 6 HBP, 42 SB, 1.234 WHIP
Advanced Stats: 95 ERA+, 3.60 FIP, 8.8 H/9, 1.1 HR/9, 2.3 BB/9, 9.2 SO/9, 2.3 WAR
Free Agent: 2022
2019 Salary: $6 million
Grade: B-
2019 Review
In a season that saw him reach double-digit wins for the second straight year, starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard showed flashes of greatness and what could be when his full potential is tapped. However, a sense of consistency – as well as an ability to maintain improvement in areas of weakness – remained noticeably absent.
The hard-throwing righty opened the 2019 season with a win and followed with a couple of quality starts, which resulted in a decent 4.74 ERA after the first week of April. The next five weeks told a different story; Syndergaard would struggle, allowing 18 ER in 30 IP, while letting up a total of 40 hits – ballooning his ERA up to 5.14 by the start of May.
From there, Syndergaard was able to right the ship to some extent and achieve some balance, maintaining an ERA in the mid-4’s from mid-May to the end of July. In August and September, Noah finally hit a bit of a hot streak, winning four of his six starts between August 4th and September 2nd. During this span – save for that yearly meltdown that came against the Chicago Cubs, in which he let up 9 ER in just 3 IP – the right-hander gave up just 5 ER in 33 innings, putting his ERA at a respectable 3.97.
Noah rounded out his 2019 season with three straight no-decisions (and a brief, yet awkward situation in which the righty asked not to be paired with catcher Wilson Ramos) but gave his team a chance to win each time, allowing no more than four runs in those last three outings.
An up-and-down season was also accompanied by an inability to consistently fend off the stolen base. Since he first arrived in the big leagues in 2015, Syndergaard has made attempts to improve upon this glaring weakness or, at the very least, prevent it from having more of an impact than it already does on his game. However, in 2019, this weakness continued to rear its ugly head; Noah allowed a whopping 42 stolen bases this season, putting him at the top of the NL in this category.
2019 Key Moment
What happens when Noah Syndergaard is able to tap into that aforementioned well of potential?
Mets fans were given an answer on May 2nd when their righthander threw a complete-game shutout against the Cincinnati Reds in a ballpark known for being hitter-friendly. In this 1-0 victory, Syndergaard gave up four hits and struck out 10 in a game that lasted just two hours and ten minutes.
Oh, and he also provided his team with their lone run of the game thanks to his solo homer.
2020 Outlook
Bad starts will happen. This is inevitable, as it is virtually impossible to maintain perfection over the course of 30-something starts. However, if Noah Syndergaard can find a way to limit those stolen bases and consistently access that next level that we have seen glimpses of over the years- rather than tease us with one or two or three a season- he could be in for an exciting (and, perhaps finally, dominant) 2020.
Projection: 32 G, 202 IP, 12-6, 3.96 ERA, 205 SO, 1.216 WHIP
