RHP Matt Harvey is expected to start Friday’s intrasquad game at Digital Domain Park according to Terry Collins who also announced his pitching assignments for the first three games of the Grapefruit League season as follows:
March 5 Mets vs. Nationals: Dillon Gee, Matt Harvey, Miguel Batista, Daniel Herrera, Tim Byrdak, Frank Francisco
March 6 Mets (SS) vs. Cardinals: Johan Santana, R.A. Dickey, Pedro Beato
March 6 Mets (SS) at Astros: Jeurys Familia, Jeremy Hefner, Josh Stinson
Yesterday, Michael Baron of MetsBlog spoke to top prospect Matt Harvey while on assignment in St. Lucie. Here is part of that interview:
Michael Baron: Last year, you dominated the Florida State League. After being promoted to Double-A, what were some of the challenges you faced, and the immediate adjustments which were necessary to make?
Matt Harvey: The biggest thing in the jump to Double-A was staying in my approach, and not trying to do much. Hitters are hitters; they’re trying to hit me and I’m trying to get them out. I can’t try and change that just because I was promoted. Early in the move, I got away from that, but it was a learning experience and I got more comfortable there as time went on. I really learned that no matter how many jumps I make, just to not change and go about my business the way I’ve always done.
Michael Baron: When you were promoted to Double-A, initially you struggled. But you were lights out towards the end of the season. Did you have to make any mechanical adjustments, or was it a matter of simply needing to execute better?
Matt Harvey: I just had to make things smoother – not to force things, and just letting things happen. Whether it was trying to throw a curveball for a strike, or keeping my change up down – it was a matter of trusting my stuff and doing everything I should have been doing. I really worked on that this winter – I smoothed everything else out, and trying to eliminate differences in my delivery between pitch types. That helped me tremendously.
Michael Baron: Were you given a set of goals by the organization this winter?
Matt Harvey: Just to work on location, and keeping my pitches down. As I progressed in Double-A, they had trouble hitting everything down.
Check out the entire interview at MetsBlog.com.
