Yesterday the Mets added four players to their 40-man roster to protect them from the December 10th Rule 5 draft and one of them was starting pitcher Seth Lugo. The right-hander started a career high 24 games this year combined between the Binghamton Mets and Las Vegas 51’s.
He went 8-7 with 3.84 ERA and 1.250 WHIP while leading all Mets minor league pitchers with 127 strikeouts in 136 innings. His 8.01 K/9 in AA was good for fifth in the Eastern League for starting pitchers with at least 100 innings and he got even better with a 10.0 K/9 in AAA (27 innings).
The Mets drafted Lugo in the 34th round of the 2011 draft from the Centenary College of Louisiana. He caught the eye of Mets associate scout Jimmy Nelson who suggested Lugo to Tommy Jackson who is the Mets amateur scout in the deep south area. Jackson was able to see Lugo who struggled during his senior year (3-7, 5.57 ERA) two weeks before the draft according to an interview done by Mets beat writer Mike Vorkunov.
He had a solid pro debut with the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League making 11 appearances (10 starts) pitching to a 3.66 ERA when the league run average was 5.21. That offseason his career took a turn for the worse when he found out after numerous MRI’s that he had spondylolisthesis which is the forward displacement of a vertebra.
Doctors told Seth that he might never pitch again he underwent a lumbar fusion and surgery that lasted nearly ten hours. The surgery took him out of the entire 2012 season as he stayed bedridden for three months.
Somehow he beat the long odds to return to the mound in 2013 making 12 starts between the Brooklyn Cyclones and Savannah Sand Gnats. In 2014, Lugo pitched a career high 105 innings in 27 games including four starts and picked up three saves.
This year when I saw Lugo pitch in person I was struck by hhis ability to get batters out without the necessity of a blazing fastball. All the contact against him was weak, the opposing hitters were unable to square up any of his pitches. I talked to two American League scouts the day after his start and they both said they liked Lugos’ pitchability. They also both said they had him labeled with 4/5 starter potential in the big leagues.
MMO – First off just want to thank you for taking the time to answer some questions and congrats on being added to the Mets 40-man roster.
Seth – Thank you.
MMO – What was it like to make it to AAA this year and play for a manager like Wally?
Seth – It was pretty awesome. It was great to play with a bunch of older guys with a ton of experience. I felt like everyday I was able to bring in some new information and just see the game a little differently. Play for Wally was pretty cool. I could definitely tell he was an old school type coach and it made me feel more mature and professional playing for a guy like that. Wally was great.
MMO – For people that haven’t seen you pitch before can you tell me a little bit about what you throw and how you like to attack hitters/lineup?
Seth – Well I think I’m a lot different than a lot of pitchers. I like to try to induce a lot of early contact with a 2 seamer and my slider/change up. If I do get ahead in the count, I like to turn my stuff up a notch and bring my 4 seamer about 4-7 mph faster than my 2 seamer and I mix my curveball in for a swing and miss in the dirt or freeze them with it in the zone. I’ve always relied on my curveball in the dirt and my fastball up out of the zone for strikeout situations.
MMO – The first time I saw you (in Portland) I was impressed with your ability to stay away from the barrel of bats. And you weren’t afraid to throw any pitch in any count. What do you think you need to improve on to be able to pitch at the Major League level?
Seth – That’s come with maturity and my control of mechanics. I think I need to just keep perfecting my mechanics and work on my control with my secondary pitches. Also, I plan to really work on my 2 seamer movement this offseason… I’m really hitting the gym hard this offseason so hopefully I can bring in a little more velocity next year. Confidence is always a must so I also have to just keep my head up and stay confident that everything I’m doing is going to put me in the position I want to be in.
MMO – You are participating in the Barwis program, is it your first time?
Seth – Yes, I am in Florida right now for the program.
MMO – What is a normal day like in the program, do you have a specialized workout being a pitcher?
Seth – Well, we start with a pretty intense warm up and by the time were finished with it, everyone is sweating heavily and out of breath. Then we go into our workout, and yes the pitchers have a separate routine than the position players. It usual lasts about an hour and a half and its full of heavy lifting, explosive movements, and then core/flexibility/balance exercises, in a superset order. We’re constantly moving and there are no breaks until we’re finished. It is definitely the most rigorous workout I’ve ever been put through. After we finish with the weight and resistance stuff we go into sprints for about 10 minutes which is the most exhausting part in my opinion. It usually takes us about 3 hours nonstop to complete the workouts.
MMO – When the Mets drafted you were you surprised?
Seth – I was actually pretty confident that I would get drafted. My head coach hooked me up with a workout for a Mets scout and I knew that I threw very well when I went to it so I had a little bit of a chip on my shoulder as the draft was going on.
MMO – When you found out about the severe nature of your back injury do you think you could have thrown a baseball for the last time and what was it like for you to have to experience something like that early in your career?
Seth – It was rough for me. The doctors and trainers told me that the odds coming back from the surgery weren’t the greatest but other people had come back from it and had full careers. After that I didn’t care about odds, I knew I could do it if someone else already had. It was very hard mentally on me though, not being able to play and having to basically lay around doing nothing for a few months. But at the same time I think it helped drive me and pushed me to come back better than ever. Do I think the surgery set me back some? Yea I do but it also showed me what it was like to miss a season and watch everyone else progress while I sat at home. So I think in the long run, having the surgery at an early point in my career helped me more than it hurt me.
MMO – How close did you follow the Mets playoff run and have you talked to any of those guys to congratulate them?
Seth – Oh, I was watching every pitch of it. No I haven’t talked to any of the guys. I figured everyone they’ve ever known has been trying to get in touch with them. If I was in their shoes I think I’d like some peace and quiet so I figured I’d wait until I see them in spring training to congratulate their season.
MMO – Who were your favorite teams/players to watch when your were growing up?
Seth – It’s funny, I never caught once in my life but Pudge was always my favorite player. I grew up going to Rangers games and watching him so I was always a big Rangers and Ivan Rodriguez fan.
MMO – Thank you for answering my questions and hope to see you at Citi Field soon!
Seth – You’re welcome and thank you very much.
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