Photo: Stetson Athletics
On this day in 2010, which believe it or not was now 10 years ago, the Mets drafted a former college shortstop by the name of Jacob deGrom in the ninth round. And the rest was history.
The right-handed thrower was strictly a shortstop during his freshman season at Stetson, then pitched in only one game as a sophomore before making 17 appearances (12 starts) as a junior.
DeGrom, of course, jumped straight into the minors as a pitcher, posting a 5.19 ERA in 26 innings for the Kingsport Mets before going down to Tommy John surgery at the age of 22.
DeGrom came back strong in 2012 though, accelerating his minor league development and getting back on his trajectory. Despite some mixed results in 2013, he zoomed through all the minor league levels and made his MLB debut in 2014.
To say he did not disappoint would be an understatement, as he posted a 2.69 ERA and 9.2 K/9 in 22 starts en route to winning the National League Rookie of the Year award.
DeGrom certainly hasn’t looked back since then, making at least 24 starts in five consecutive years. He achieved his first All-Star nod in his first full big league season in 2015, a year in which he helped the Mets reach the World Series, and has since made the All-Star team in 2018 and 2019.
As impressive as his career has been to date, 2018 was something even more special as he dazzled his way to a 1.70 ERA and 11.2 K/9 as he easily took home the National League Cy Young award. He followed that up with another impressive campaign in 2019, as he posted a 2.43 ERA and took home a second consecutive Cy Young.
Never letting the frustrations of the lack of run support from his teammates get to him, deGrom has been a quiet but fearless leader of this team for years now, and the Mets were extraordinarily lucky to acquire such an elite talent out of the ninth round in 2010. DeGrom is not only possibly the best pitcher in baseball right now, but is sure to go down as one of the best pitchers in all of Mets franchise history.
