In his first start of the spring, defending NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom picked up exactly where he left off against the visiting Houston Astros, sitting 97-98 mph with his fastball while throwing 14 of his 17 total pitches for strikes in a one-run, two-hit, one-strikeout performance.

Rough outings from David Peterson and Arquimedes Caminero accounted for nine more runs in the 10-1 drubbing – only one of which would be answered in the second inning, making for deGrom’s first loss of the preseason. Nonetheless, the ace looked every bit of himself, even if rumors and discussions surrounding his contract have cast a pall over his abilities as a pitcher since he first arrived in camp.

DeGrom’s afternoon began on a rough note when outfielder Tony Kemp led off with a double down the right-field line on a fastball that couldn’t run far enough inside to tie him up. Jake responded well, fooling top prospect Kyle Tucker on a good changeup to initiate a popout to first before jamming three-time All-Star Michael Brantley with a tight slider to get a 3-1 groundout.

With Kemp at third base and two gone, deGrom got ahead of third baseman Tyler White 0-1 before a hit into right field off the end of the bat brought in the Astros’ first run of the game. Four pitches later, first baseman A.J. Reed whiffed on a fastball outside at 98 mph to end the inning.

“The main thing was going out there and feeling good,” deGrom told reporters in the tunnel a few innings later. “I was trying to work on fastball command to both sides of the plate. I didn’t throw very much offspeed, but the main thing for me is just establishing my fastball.”

After finishing his recovery running, he answered a handful of questions with SNY’s Steve Gelbs regarding his performance as well as his mindset heading into what looks to be a pivotal year, both for deGrom and the organization as a whole.

“My main goal is to stay healthy and make every start, go out there and compete, one pitch at a time, trust your stuff, and go from there,” he said. “I try not to get caught up on repeating that year – that’s going to be tough to do – but I go into each game with the same mindset, as prepared as I can be to have success. That’s my outlook on how I approach this season.”

When asked about his attitude towards former agent and current general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, particularly as it relates to the flurry of offseason acquisitions, deGrom added “it’s exciting. There’s a lot of depth on this team. Not everyone’s gonna be able to play all 162 games… The guys that have come up and been put in place here are gonna give quality big-league at-bats at any position.”

Of course, the conversation took a turn for the logistical, as the questions surrounding his contract status made their way in. Just as it’s always been, both on and off the field, Jacob was unfazed:

“I’m here to prepare to get ready to go out and try to be the best that I can be for this team in 2019.”