Despite being omitted from MLB Network’s Top 10 Right Now list, RHP Jacob deGrom‘s stock continues to rise, and for great reason. The 27 year-old has been improving since his debut in 2014, and has the chance to prove that he belongs in the top 5 best pitchers in baseball in 2016.
Start with the fact that nearly all his major stats improved from 2014 to 2015. His ERA in 2014 was 2.69 in 22 games pitched. In 8 more starts in 2015, his ERA dropped to 2.54, which was good for 6th in all of baseball. Other numbers that dropped in his favor were WHIP, BAA, and walks. A closer look at his advanced metrics make his 2015 performance look even more impressive though. To begin deGrom had the 6th best strike percentage in MLB, at 68.1%. That’s better than Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez, Gerrit Cole, and Madison Bumgarner to name a few. He also had the 4th best OPS against him at .574. Again the pitchers he beat out are a who’s who of stars including, Dallas Keuchel, Sonny Gray, David Price, Matt Harvey, and Chris Archer.
An interesting stat I came across was when looking into average fastball speed and average perceived speed. Comparing deGrom to his counterpart Matt Harvey, deGrom’s average pitch speed clocks in at 95.28, compared to Harvey’s at 96.18. However, the average perceived speed of their pitches is higher for deGrom than Harvey. Which probably has to do with how well deGrom hides the ball during his pitching motion, and that his average extension when pitching exceeds Harvey’s as well (6.82 to 6.05). They both are listed at 6’4, but deGrom is a bit lankier than Harvey, which could play a part in the added extension in his motion. He also beats another 6’4 strikeout machine in Clayton Kershaw, in both perceived average speed (96.01 to 93.94) and extension (6.82 to 6.43).
And of course, one would be remiss not to mention his tremendous playoff resume that he accumulated in 2015. His first three outings against the Dodgers and Cubs were absolutely dominant, going 3-0 with 27 strikeouts in 20 innings pitched. Despite the loss in Game 2 of the World Series, he had pitched well up until the 5th inning, and the Mets offense only mustered two hits in that game. Needless to say, I imagine most fans would take deGrom’s impressive post-season cumulative stat line over those like Kershaw (2-6 4.59 ERA), Price (2-7 5.12 ERA), and Greinke (3-3 3.55 ERA).
I also wanted to see how some contemporaries of deGrom’s fared from their rookie year to sophomore season. Take a look at some of the numbers:
Kershaw rookie year: 5-5, 4.26 ERA, 1.495 WHIP
Kershaw sophomore year: 8-8, 2.79 ERA, 1.22 WHIP
Bumgarner rookie year: 7-6, 3.00 ERA, 1.306 WHIP
Bumgarner sophomore year: 13-13, 3.21 ERA, 1.212 WHIP
Greinke rookie year: 8-11, 3.97 ERA, 1.166 WHIP
Greinke sophomore year: 5-17, 5.80 ERA, 1.563 WHIP
Now here’s deGrom’s numbers:
Rookie year: 9-6, 2.69 ERA, 1.14 WHIP
Sophomore year: 14-8, 2.54 ERA, 0.98 WHIP
Of course deGrom debuted at 25, a later age then the three examples listed. The point is to illustrate just how dominant deGrom has been to this point in such a short amount of time in the league. And now without any innings limitations lingering over him he could produce even better. Not bad for a guy who was drafted in the 9th round, 272nd overall.
For my money, deGrom would be one of the first players I address with a contract extension. It also is worth noting that he’s represented by CAA Sports, whose other clients include Buster Posey, Matt Cain, Ryan Howard, and Ryan Zimmerman, all of whom signed long term contracts with their respective teams before testing free agency.
With the numbers he’s produced in his first two years in the bigs, deGrom might be in line to challenge for the NL Cy Young Award this season. While he was snubbed by the MLB Network’s “Shredder”, Mets fans will not snub him or his gaudy numbers. If he continues to pitch like this, there’s no doubt the rest of baseball will soon appreciate and marvel at the job he’s done.
