When Grant Hartwig came to spring training in 2022, the right-handed pitcher had a grand total of 11 2/3 innings of experience in pro baseball. The undrafted pitcher started the season in Low-A St. Lucie and pitched his way (1.75 ERA) all the way to the top of the Mets farm system in Triple-A Syracuse. That earned the 25-year-old an invitation to big league camp this year with the Mets.
Hartwig didn’t make the Mets out of camp, but when they needed an arm in June, he was added to the major league roster. He made his debut with a scoreless inning on June 19 and followed with two more scoreless outings. After a few rough patches in July, Hartwig gave the Mets much-needed length out of the bullpen on Wednesday night with 2 1/3 scoreless innings against the Cubs in a 4-3 win. Hartwig struck out two and didn’t walk a batter in his fourth win of the year.
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Hartwig’s strikeouts in the outing came on a changeup and a sweeper. The sweeper has been the go-to pitch for Hartwig this year, holding opponents to a .100 average, and he has yet to give up an extra-base hit on the breaking ball.
It was the second straight outing that Hartwig had gone 2 1/3 innings, and the ninth time in 16 major league appearances he had gotten at least four outs. Hartwig has a 3.27 ERA, 3.27 FIP and hasn’t allowed a home run in his first 22 big league innings.
The pitcher with a degree in microbiology could prove to be a solid depth piece for the Mets in 2024 as they look to build a contending bullpen.
