When Noah Syndergaard took the mound to make his first spring start last week, I wasn’t surprised to see him firing 100+ mph fastballs at will and blowing away the heart of the World Champion Houston Astros lineup. It included a big strikeout of American League MVP Jose Altuve on three pitches; two 101 mph fastballs and then a 91 mph changeup that froze Altuve for a called strike three.
Syndergaard’s blazing fastball looked like it was in mid-season form, and more importantly the 25-year old showcased his fluid delivery and ability to spot his pitches wherever he wanted. He scoffed at the notion that he was overthrowing way too early in the spring and was risking a catastrophic injury.
“There were a couple of times I saw the radar gun,” Syndergaard said after his start. “But it didn’t even feel like I was really exerting a whole lot of effort. Everything felt right”
“My heart may have been beating a little fast when I saw 100, 101 on the scoreboard,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. “But honestly I look more at the delivery and if he was trying to overthrow and he wasn’t doing any of that.”
In his second grapefruit league start on Saturday, Syndergaard went to work on honing his breaking pitches, relying less on his fastball and mixing in a healthy combination of his slider and of course his infamous “Hook from Hell.”
This time, Syndergaard only hit 100 MPH twice in three solid innings of work against the Miami Marlins. All the scoring in the game came in the first inning after a leadoff walk to Braxton Lee, cleanup hitter Justin Bour smacked a sharp single that deflected off Syndergaard scoring Lee with the only run of the game in the Mets’ 1-0 loss.
Syndergaard really bore down after that and impressively retired the next seven batters in a row to end his outing, including a key strikeout of top Marlins prospect Lewis Brinson, who took a knee-buckling curve ball for a called strike three.
“I’m very happy with the last pitch I threw. I don’t think I’ve ever struck anyone out like that with my curveball looking,” he said. “That just tells me that it was breaking pretty good. ”
Syndergaard struck out four in his three innings of work, and he was all smiles afterward having accomplished what he wanted to do and being pleased with how he commanded his off-speed pitches.
“My first outing, there was a lot of adrenaline and I just kind of went out there and went after it,” he said. “This time it was a little more structured. I used my brain a little bit more instead of just going out there and throwing. It was more about pitching and working on my delivery. That was my game plan.”
In 2016, Syndergaard had his best season as major leaguer and much of that success came from using his fastball less and turning to his plus-plus-slider which became a nice weapon for him. That year he threw the slider 29.1 percent of the time and it averaged an MLB best 98.5 mph. He used his curveball sparingly, only 8.6 percent of the time.
The results were staggering in a good way as Syndergaard saw his K/9 improve from 9.96 to 10.68, his HR/9 went from 1.14 to 0.54, his ERA dropped from 3.24 to 2.60, and swinging strike percentage spiked from 12.2 to 14.2 percent. His 6.4 WAR in 2016 was the best in the majors.
The bulked up Noah Syndergaard we saw last spring is officially gone, and in his place we have a leaner and more flexible Syndergaard whose delivery has looked smoother than ever and almost effortless. He vows to mount a huge comeback season in 2018 after a wasted season in 2017.
The undisputed Mets ace when he’s healthy, Syndergaard says he has the Cy Young award in his sights this season, and that can only spell good news for the New York Mets.
