Over the course of the season, Noah Syndergaard has averaged 98 MPH with his fastball. Many times a game, he will throw that fastball in excess of 100 MPH. However in his last start before the All Star break, Syndergaard’s fastball velocity dropped precipitously to 91 MPH.
“I’ve never seen anything like that before when there’s been no ill feeling beforehand.” pitching coach Dan Warthen said after the game, referring to Syndergaard’s sudden velocity drop before exiting his start.
Given the fact that he has already been labeled a risk for Tommy John surgery and the fact that he has a bone spur in his elbow, many feared the worst.
Fortunately for Syndergaard and the Mets, it was not the worst case scenario. Instead, Syndergaard has a dead arm which he attributes to the heavy workload he has received in the first half of the season.
The best way to handle arm fatigue is to give the pitcher an opportunity to rest their arm so they can get regain their velocity. For the time being, Syndergaard says, “I am just picking up a ball and playing light toss, nothing too crazy. I am taking it day by day and see how it goes.” (New York Daily News).
While Syndergaard is seeing how it goes, Jacob deGrom and Bartolo Colon will start the first two games out of the All Star Break. Syndergaard and the Mets will reassess how to proceed until after he throws a bullpen session on Friday.
It is anticipated this bullpen session will be an abbreviated one as Syndergaard said, “I am at the point of the season where I don’t need to be throwing 30-35 pitch bullpens anymore. I am going to taper it back to 15-20, if that.”
This is part of a concerted effort for Syndergaard to be as fresh as possible as he can be for the rest of the season and to avoid succumbing to another dead arm.
“I am going to take a step back, look at my routine every five days and take a play out of Bartolo’s playbook,” Syndergaard said. “He doesn’t throw bullpens, he takes it really light on his arm and every fifth day he is fresh as can be.”
For his part, Syndergaard believes this time off has been beneficial, and he believes he will be ready to pitch when called upon after the All Star Break saying, “I will be back to 100% once this break is over.”
Terry Collins told FOX Sports that his young ace played catch on Tuesday before the All Star Game and that he felt good afterward.
It certainly looks like Syndergaard will be able to continue his outstanding season that has seen him go 9-4 with a 2.56 ERA and a 1.079 WHIP.
