It’s no secret how tough on Jerry Blevins the year 2018 has been.
A guy who has had such strong success against left-handed hitters throughout his career, and especially with the Mets, has struggled mightily against them this year.
Blevins, 34, has struggled in all facets of his game this year due to the fact that his put away pitch has failed him, but has especially struggled against lefties.
Southpaws are teeing off Blevins to the tune of a .333/.426/.600 clip, while righties are hitting a more temperate .163/.308/.256 against him.
Blevins is currently the only left-hander in the Mets ‘pen, and may be traded in the coming weeks as the trade deadline approaches and his contract expiring.
Even if he doesn’t it would be nice to have a second lefty out there for the Mets, at least to audition for next season.
One in particular that has been especially good down on the farm is 27-year-old Ian Krol.
Krol, an Illinois native, debuted for the rival Washington Nationals back in 2013 and has spent time with the Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves and Detroit Tigers in the years since.
After being cut by the Angels earlier this season, the Mets picked him up on a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Las Vegas, where he has thrived in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League.
Between the Angels Triple-A affiliate Salt Lake and Vegas, Krol has registered a 2.25 ERA over 29 games (36.0 IP).
To see the last time he’s allowed an earned run, you’d have to go back nearly a month to June 18 where he yielded one run over two innings of work against Oklahoma City.
In his last 10 games, Krol has a 2.57 ERA and has fanned 17 batters in 14.0 innings pitched.
He has pitched more innings against right-handers at Triple-A Las Vegas, but during his time with Salt Lake, he kept lefties to a .191 batting average in 10.0 innings.
With the bullpen being a weak point practically all year for the Mets, it would be shrewd of them to try out some guys in their organization who might stick for the rest of this year and maybe next year.
Krol has been strong so far this year and is worth a flyer at the Major League level.
