Marcus Stroman, RHP
Player Data: Age:28, B/T: R/R
Primary Stats: 11 G, 59.2 IP, 4-2, 3.77 ERA, 8 HR, 23 BB, 60 SO, 1.475 WHIP
Advanced Stats: 108 ERA+, 4.15 FIP, 1.2 WAR
Free Agent: 2021
2019 Salary: $7.4 M
Grade: C+
2019 Review
There was a lot of head scratching when general manager Brodie Van Wagenen traded two pitching prospects to the Toronto Blue Jays for Long Island native Marcus Stroman on July 28. The team already had a deep starting rotation and desperately needed to address its bullpen woes (which they didn’t do). But Van Wagenen has been clear that they traded for Stroman to replace Zack Wheeler, the right-hander signed the Phillies last week.
It was made more questionable by the fact that one of those prospects, another Long Island native in Anthony Kay, went 7-3 with a 1.76 ERA, 0.920 WHIP and 70 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings at Double-A Binghamton in 2019. Stroman, who had just been selected to his first All-Star Game and boasted a 2.96 ERA and 153 ERA+ at the time of the trade, was the best starting pitcher on the market as the trade deadline approached. Many thought he would end up across town with the Yankees.
Stroman’s performance during his first few weeks with the Mets did not silence any of the critics of the trade. He tossed just 25 1/3 innings and posted a 4.91 ERA over his first five starts with the team, although the Mets did win the first four games he started. Stroman didn’t have his first quality start with the Mets until his sixth start on September 1 at Philadelphia. He allowed two runs in six innings while striking out six. He followed that performance with his worst start as a Met; the Phillies scored five runs, four earned, on 10 hits in four innings against Stroman on September 7. That same night at Tropicana Field, Kay struck out eight Rays and allowed just two runs in 5 2/3 innings in his major league debut.
But Stroman turned things around from there, and in the final few weeks of the season he showed that the questionable trade may not have been such a bad move after all. In his final four starts of 2019 he posted a 1.88 ERA, held batters to a measly .540 OPS and allowed just one home run in 24 innings while only walking nine. It’s also worth noting that the Mets won all four of those starts. His best outing during this stretch came on September 17 at hitter-friendly Coors Field. Stroman tossed seven shutout innings and struck out seven while allowing just four hits and one walk.
2020 Outlook
One of the benefits Mets fans could calm themselves with from that strange trade was that Stroman was under contract for the 2020 season. With the departure of Zack Wheeler to Philadelphia, Stroman’s 2020 season may be more imperative to the Mets’ success than initially thought. Mets fans are hoping the Marcus Stroman from his last four starts of 2019 is the Marcus Stroman they will be seeing throughout 2020.
As with just about every other Mets player, consistency will be key for Stroman to have any success in 2020. He showed flashes of the pitcher that was a top 10 Cy Young finisher in 2017, especially towards the end of the season, but the struggles he had when he first came to the Mets cannot become a theme. However, it’s fair to give Stroman the benefit of the doubt that the struggles stemmed from adjusting to playing in an entirely new environment in the middle of the season.
Efficiency will also be key for Stroman in 2020. He isn’t much of a strikeout pitcher, averaging just 7.4 K/9 throughout his career, which gives him the potential to keep his pitch count low while working deep into games. He has only recorded an out in the seventh inning in one of his starts in orange and blue. Hopefully Stroman can have longer outings than what he showed in 2019, especially if the Mets aren’t able to address the bullpen issues that plagued the team throughout last season.
Stroman will be in a Mets rotation that includes back-to-back Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and the newly signed Rick Porcello.
