During the second half last season, something appeared to click for New York Mets left-hander Steven Matz. Over his final 14 starts, the 28-year-old southpaw pitched to a respectable 3.52 ERA, but there was more to the story.
Despite allowing 18 earned runs over three starts during that stretch (August 2 at Pittsburgh, September 16 at Colorado, September 23 versus Miami; 1.75 second-half ERA minus those starts), Matz held opposing hitters to a .238/.299/.397 slash line against and allowed nearly a home run less per nine than he did in the first half (2.00 to 1.02). That’s clear progress and a great sign for this 2020 Mets rotation.
The subtraction of Zack Wheeler — even with the addition of Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha to the mix — left a void in the Flushing Five. Between right-hander Marcus Stroman and Matz, the Mets are hoping to have that gap filled and transition seamlessly into a new era.
That’s a plausible scenario, but far from a sure thing. Matz spoke to reporters on Saturday from Mets Fan Fest at Citi Field and appears to be ready for that challenge.
“I don’t feel any extra pressure [in Wheeler’s absence]. I think I always set high expectations for myself no matter where I stand in the rotation,” he said. “Going into this season, I’m going to work as hard as I can no matter where I’m at.”
Matz added he’d like to go deeper into games (averaged 5.31 innings per start last season) and also clarified that the team had not reached out to him about potentially shifting into a relief role (made two relief appearances in June last season).
The lefty also touched on the progress he made under the revamped Mets coaching staff, specifically regarding his improved control over the course of the second half (3.22 walks per nine to 2.61 in the second half).
“I worked a lot with [pitching coach Phil Regan] and [assistant pitching coach] Jeremy Accardo on a few different things but not really one thing I can put my finger on. I think I was just learning as I went out there every time. So just going out there is huge for me.”
With Regan off the bench, Accardo one year deeper into his Flushing tenure, and analytically-driven former MLB hurler Jeremy Hefner in place as the team’s new pitching coach, it appears that, although the cast is changing, the message could remain consistent. That’s a plus.
Matz expressed high praise for Hefner and all he brings to the table on Saturday and appears pretty excited to get to work.
“[Henfer] understands the analytics side of it really well and he understands how to communicate that to guys that are playing that can make sense and you can translate that,” he said. “I think that’s a big thing.”
“All of this analytics is new and sometimes it’s tough for us to understand what it even means and how we can make adjustments based on that stuff. He’s really good at articulating and kinda giving us cues to make small adjustments.”
Being that this game is, at its core, just a series of small adjustments itself, it appears things are headed in the right direction within the pitching staff.
