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Heading into the 2021 campaign, the New York Mets were expected to feature one of the deepest starting rotations across the major leagues, but due to a lack of healthy bodies, that depth has been tested early on through the first quarter of the regular season.

With starters Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard beginning this season on the injured list, that opened the door for Joey Lucchesi to earn a spot in the rotation during spring training, which he ultimately accomplished by posting a 2.77 ERA and 15 strikeouts over 13.0 innings. But since the Mets endured several postponements out of the gate, the 27-year-old was moved to the bullpen and made his first appearance as a multi-inning reliever.

Once the team’s schedule got back on track, Lucchesi, who was acquired via trade from the San Diego Padres during the offseason, returned to the starting rotation and made a pair of starts in April. Having said that, he failed to provide some length and couldn’t pitch beyond the third inning in either of those outings. In total, the 6′ 5″ hurler allowed six hits, six earned runs, two walks and struck out eight batters over 6.0 innings during that span.

As a result of his inability to pitch deep into games, the Mets’ bullpen became extremely taxed towards the end of April and required a fresh arm, forcing them to option the former Padre down to the alternate training site. Considering ace Jacob deGrom has been dealing with side tightness, Lucchesi was quickly recalled at the start of May, although he’s largely served as a bulk-innings reliever ever since rejoining the majors.

Over his first three appearances since being recalled from the alternate training site, the left-hander compiled just 7 2/3 innings, creating a troubling 11.74 ERA, 6.54 FIP, 6.10 xFIP, .343 AVG, .370 BABIP, 48.1% FB rate, 15.4% HR/FB rate, 10.3% barrel rate and a 31.0% hard-hit rate. In addition, he also allowed three walks and stuck out six batters over those three outings.

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Despite these struggles, the Mets needed someone to pitch the bulk of last Saturday’s game against the Miami Marlins, and with starter Taijuan Walker on the 10-day IL due to side tightness, Lucchesi made his first start since May 3. While expectations were set extremely low, the former fourth-round pick dominated through 4.0 scoreless innings of work, which was certainly a welcomed surprise.

Enjoying his best performance of the season, the veteran hurler only surrendered one hit – a weakly hit single – and struck out eight of the 12 batters he faced, including five consecutive strikeouts.

At just 43 pitches through 4.0 innings, Lucchesi probably should’ve been allowed to start the fifth inning of Saturday’s game, but manager Luis Rojas believed it was time to hand things over to the bullpen. Even though reliever Drew Smith allowed the game-winning home run in the ninth inning, this disappointing outcome couldn’t take away from the encouraging improvements No. 47 displayed during his fourth start of 2021.

So what adjustments did Lucchesi make this past weekend? For starters, he did an excellent job of working ahead early in counts, as the lefty recorded first-pitch strikes to 11 of the 12 batters he faced. Along with being efficient, the Southeast Missouri State standout was also extremely effective with his high-70s churve, allowing him to throw it a season-high 60.5% of the time.

Of the 26 churves he threw against the Marlins, the former Redhawk induced six strikeouts along with eight swings and misses, resulting in a 66.7% strikeout rate and a 53.3% whiff rate.

While Lucchesi didn’t make any mechanical adjustments before his latest start, he still witnessed a fairly dramatic increase in his breaking ball’s velocity, as it climbed from its average velocity of 77.5 mph on May 15 to a season-high 79.6 mph on May 22.

As seen above, Lucchesi experienced a noticeable decline in velocity following his first appearance of the season, dropping down from 78.8 mph on Apr. 7 to 77.7 mph on Apr. 17, and hadn’t regained it before his most recent outing. Thanks to the help of his improved mental approach, the soft-throwing lefty kept things simple and solely focused on pitching to the best of his ability.

Though this increased velocity didn’t add any additional movement, vertical or horizontal, on the California native’s churve, it seemingly helped him control his primary strikeout weapon much more consistently. Since managing the strike zone has been a major issue for him this season, it was very encouraging to witness his breaking ball being pinpointed on the edge of the zone during his start against Miami.

In comparison, here’s where Lucchesi had been locating his churve prior to his latest start:

Unlike his other appearances in 2021, Lucchesi was able to keep his churve out of the heart of the plate this past Saturday, which kept opposing hitters off balance and transformed it into a much more effective swing and miss offering. Paired with this sudden increase in velocity, the former top prospect should enjoy further success with his most reliable pitch if he can continue commanding it away from the middle of the zone.

Following this recent showing, the towering lefty’s churve now owns a career-best 43.8% strikeout rate and a 40.0% whiff rate on the season. Comparing these impressive metrics to the rest of the majors, his churve has produced the 15th-highest strikeout rate and whiff rate among all pitchers who’ve totaled at least 25 plate appearances against their curveball, according to BaseballSavant.com.

While deGrom returned on Tuesday, starter Jordan Yamamoto has recently been placed on the injured list and there’s also still no timetable for Walker’s eventual return. As a result, Lucchesi is still needed to fill in as an injury replacement within the starting rotation, meaning he’s likely earned himself another start or two.

In the end, Lucchesi is destined to become a multi-inning reliever whenever the Mets’ pitching staff returns to full health, but in the meantime, he’ll likely continue to receive starting opportunities or bulk-inning appearances if he’s able to build off his latest outing.