Could the 2021 Mets’ Rotation Be Better Than 2015’s?

I’d like to start my inaugural article by thanking Joe D and everyone at Metsmerized for letting me come aboard to the team! I remember back in 2012 in New Britain, CT my dad and I were vigorously trying to find Zack Wheeler to get his autograph at a New Britain Rock Cats game. We ran into Joe where he told us about MMO, and MMO has been our go-to website for Mets news ever since!

It’s an honor to be on board, and I am really excited to get going. So without further ado, let’s get started!

Heading into the 2021 season a large part of the buzz surrounding the Mets, was their starting rotation. This unit being headlined by the best pitcher in the sport in Jacob deGrom certainly helps.

Carlos Carrasco, who the Mets received in the Francisco Lindor trade, went down with a minor injury during spring training, but the team expects him back the soon. Noah Syndergaard is recovering from Tommy John surgery, and should be back in about six weeks.

Thus far this season, the rotation behind deGrom has shined. Prior to his shaky start on Saturday afternoon against the Nationals, Marcus Stroman was off to a phenomenal start to the campaign.

Taijuan Walker, who the team signed to a 2-year $20M contract in the offseason, has faired very well thus far as well. Through his first four starts, the big right-hander has pitched to a 2.14 ERA with 23 strikeouts over 21 innings of work. His 3.05 FIP thus far is the best of his career, and his 180 ERA+ is his personal best since 2018.

David Peterson, who is trying to prove that he deserves a spot in the rotation with Thor and Carrasco sidelined, has had a bit of a roller coaster start to the season. He tossed six terrific innings against the Phillies in his second outing of the year, but struggled his last time out against the Cubs.

And then Joey Lucchesi has struggled out of the fifth spot, as he was optioned to the alternative site after a pair of pour outings to begin the season. The funky lefty does figure to return to the team at some point this season though.

Ultimately, the top four in this rotation have been rather reliable to begin the season. With Carrasco seeming as though he’ll be back sooner rather than later, this rotation figures to only get better as the season progresses, especially with Syndergaard eventually returning as well.

The rotation will undoubtedly be this teams strength, and can hopefully make a big enough impact to help carry this team to the playoffs if the bats continue to be as streaky and ineffective as they have early on in this 2021 season.

The 2015 starting rotation was a prime benefactor that lead the Mets to the World Series. Looking at both of these groups next to each other, there are certainly similarities between this year’s staff and the 2015 staff.

One of the biggest similarities, is both groups contain five pitchers that can be relied upon to toss quality innings pretty much every time they take the mound.

Looking at deGrom, Harvey, Syndergaard, Colon, and Niese, compared to an eventual rotation of deGrom, Stroman, Syndergaard, Carrasco, and Walker, I see durability being much more imperative than it was in 2015. That is of course, if Syndergaard and Carrasco come back healthy and can provide the Mets with at least five or six quality innings per start.

DeGrom, Harvey, and Colon all pitched in 189+ innings, but Niese, and Syndergaard who was a rookie, pitched in much fewer innings. Mets fans might remember all too well that Niese wasn’t the most consistent pitcher. It was a young staff in 2015 altogether, after 42-year-old Bartolo Colon, and most of the guys at the time were early into their careers.

Flash forward six years later and deGrom is now a two-time Cy Young award winner, Stroman is a seasoned veteran with loads of upside, Carrasco is one of the more underrated pitchers in the game, Walker is finally fully healthy for the first time in years, and Syndergaard will be hungry once he’s back from rehabbing from TJ surgery.

This rotation has much more experience and is filled with pitchers who are hungry for a ring. When everyone is back, I fully expect the rotation to get going, even more than it has only 18-games into the year. The current group has a 2.64 ERA, third best in baseball.

DeGrom has grown into his own, and, even with their injuries in mind, Carrasco and Syndergaard are reliable if back to some form of dominance in 2021. Stroman and Walker on the other hand might have their share of mediocre outings at times, but at the end of the day, I’d have much more faith in that 4-5 than I’d have in Colon and Niese.

The 2015 staff was amazing and I’m not trying to take anything away from that. I just believe that the rotation that could be seen within 6-weeks, has much more potential than the 2015 staff. Time will tell if I’m correct, but I have a feeling that by the end of the year, it might be even more dominant this time around.