Kodai Senga came into this season as the projected No. 3 starter in the New York Mets rotation. Expectations surrounding the rookie right-hander were a bit unknown, given that he had never thrown a pitch in Major League Baseball. But through 155 1/3 big league innings, Senga has not only been the best starter for the Mets, but one of the most effective in the entire National League.
The 30-year-old has allowed two earned runs or less in 19 of his 27 starts. To take it a step further, he has allowed one earned run or less in 12 of his 27 starts this season. Players across the league spent the month of April adjusting to the new aspects of baseball, including Senga. He finished that month with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.577 WHIP through a total of 26 innings pitched.
Kodai Senga. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
But ever since then, Senga has been one of the best and most effective pitchers in all of baseball. His forkball has been nearly untouchable, as opponents are hitting just .112 with a .132 slugging percentage against that pitch. Senga has yet to surrender a home run with his forkball, and a total of three extra base hits (all doubles) have come against his most dominant weapon.
Senga already has six starts this season of at least six innings pitched with two hits or fewer allowed, tied for the single-season franchise record with Sid Fernandez. Pretty remarkable for a team that has employed the likes of Tom Seaver, Jacob deGrom, Dwight Gooden, and more when they were at their most dominant.
On Sep. 14, Senga threw six scoreless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, which lowered his ERA below 3.00 for the first time since Apr. 8. He is now one of five starting pitchers with a sub 3.00 ERA, including Blake Snell (2.43) of the San Diego Padres, Justin Steele (2.73) of the Chicago Cubs, Gerrit Cole (2.81) of the New York Yankees and Sonny Gray (2.84) of the Minnesota Twins. Senga is in really good company and he may only be just scratching the surface of his potential at this point.
Senga is 11-7 with a 2.95 ERA, but despite having great numbers, it looks fairly unlikely that he is going to be the recipient of the 2023 National League Cy Young award. On DraftKings, he is tied with Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the eighth-shortest odds at +15000. On FanDuel, he is tied with Logan Webb of the San Francisco Giants for the third shortest odds at +7000. In some years, Senga’s rookie campaign would be good enough to win the Cy Young. But given the way Snell has performed for the Padres, it looks all but wrapped up at this point for the experienced left-hander.
Still, the Mets have to be thrilled about what Senga has accomplished this season, and will use him as a building block of their team as they attempt to get back into contention in 2024.
