This was a truly forgettable season for the Mets as a whole, but no aspect of the team was more disappointing than the vaunted starting rotation. Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler were set to make up possibly the strongest rotation in the Major Leagues, and once Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo emerged, the depth only got, well, deeper.
Well, everyone except deGrom got hurt. Long story short, the 2017 Mets rotation was the worst in team history — yes, worse than 1962. The previous worst rotation ERA was 4.77, a mark set in 1962 and matched in 2009. This season, starting pitchers combined for an ERA of a whopping 5.14.
Matt Harvey, who started an All Star in 2013, had the worst single season ever for a Mets starting pitcher. The previous worst ERA for any pitcher the Mets allowed to make 18 starts in a season was Pete Schourek in 1993, who in 18 starts and 41 games overall had a 5.96 ERA. Matt Harvey made 18 starts this season, appearing in 19 games overall, and posted a whopping 6.70 ERA (and his 6.37 FIP offers no solace).
Furthermore, Harvey’s ERA is 37 percent worse than MLB average when factoring in league and ballpark. This is tied for the worst mark in Mets history for at least 17 starts came in 1963, the franchise’s second year of existence, when Jay Hook also had an ERA+ of 63.
Noah Syndergaard pitched brilliantly when healthy; Unfortunately, his appearances were few and far between. Robert Gsellman was horrible for a while, got injured, came back great and then went back to being mediocre. Seth Lugo’s starts were mostly either very good or very bad.
Zack Wheeler pitched to a 5.21 ERA in only 86.1 innings before being shut down in his first season since 2014. Steven Matz didn’t do any better, pitching to a 6.08 ERA in 66.2 innings.
Rafael Montero pitched 119 innings at the Major League level this season — if that doesn’t sum everything up, I don’t know what will.
If it weren’t for Jacob deGrom putting up All Star numbers all season (except for two starts), the rotation’s outstandingly abysmal season could have been etched in stone as an almost unattainable low. After all, when you’re worse at something than the 1962 Mets, you’ve got some work to do.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has said he is looking to augment the rotation with a “sure 200-innings guy” like a Lance Lynn, Jason Vargas, Alex Cobb-type free agent pitcher. An acquisition like that combined with some good fortune regarding injuries and hard work this offseason, the Mets rotation could regain its former glory.
