MMO Roundtable: Who Would Make Up Your Dream Mets Rotation?

One thing that the Mets have had through the years are some great starters. If you could pick your dream rotation from these players, who would make up yours?

This question may be the hardest one we have discussed so far as there are so many great options, it can be hard to choose. Our dream Mets infield was pretty much a given. There was some debate when it came to our dream Mets outfield.

But now for this? Let’s see…

Jack H.

Tom Seaver, Jacob deGrom, Dwight Gooden, Jerry Koosman, Jon Matlack

The first four are definitely Seaver, deGrom, Gooden, and Koosman. That’d have to be the Mount Rushmore of Mets starting pitchers; the course of the franchise changes dramatically if even one of these pitchers never puts on a Met uniform. The fifth spot is, at least in my mind, the only one where I can get creative. I could see any of Leiter, Darling, Cone, or Santana getting the nod, but given how underrated he was for those early-70s teams, I’m rolling the dice on Jon Matlack. Among starters, he owns the fourth-lowest ERA in franchise history and the sixth-most innings pitched, despite only getting six full seasons in Queens.

Matt

Tom Seaver, Jacob deGrom, Jerry Koosman, Dwight Gooden, Johan Santana

Starters have defined the Mets history. From Seaver to Leiter to deGrom, the Mets have been blessed to have standout starters in virtually every year of their history. My top 3: Seaver, deGrom and Koosman. I’ll throw Gooden in there, due to his 1984 season. For my fifth starter, I’ll have to include Johan. Sure, his contract didn’t end as expected, but a no-hitter is still a no-hitter, nevertheless.

Marshall

Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, Jacob deGrom, Dwight Gooden, Bret Saberhagen

Successful starting pitching has been synonymous with the Mets almost from their 1962 founding. Seven years into their existence they had a Cy Young Award winner, and before that a Rookie of the Year who was a pitcher. Of course that was Tom Seaver. Give me the Franchise along with Koosman, who was every bit as effective in clutch games as was Seaver, deGrom, and Gooden. For my fifth starter, to be a little creative, I’ll take the 1994 version of Bret Saberhagen. In a strike-shortened year, he went 14-4 and his pinpoint control gave him an insane 11.0 K’s/BB. (He allowed fewer than one walk per nine innings in 1994). I don’t want my fifth starter to be wild and give free passes to half the stadium. So I’ll go to war with those five, and hope for the best.

Sal

Tom Seaver, Jacob deGrom, Jerry Koosman, Dwight Gooden, Pedro Martinez/Johan Santana

If there’s one position the Mets have seen the most success in their history — it’s been their starting pitching. So then picking a ‘dream rotation’ should be easy, right? Not so fast. The top of the rotation should come as no surprise, anchored by two legends in Tom Seaver and Jacob deGrom. Rounding out the other three spots is where things can get tricky, however.

Although this southpaw spent his best years in the shadow of Tom Terrific, Jerry Koosman quietly dominated on the mound and was equally as important as Seaver in the Mets run for their first World Series, and for that Koosman slots in as my third starter. Despite this right-hander not living up to his other worldly potential after 1986, you cannot make a Mets dream rotation without putting a prime Doc Gooden on the list. His 1984 and ‘85 seasons alone make him a no-brainer as this staffs’ number four starter. My last spot for this rotation of monsters is going to have to be duked out by two of the best pitchers from their era’s — Pedro Martinez and Johan Santana. Although it should be noted that Santana probably had the better Mets career of the two, both players prime years were some of the best baseball had seen in some time. They also possessed tremendous competitive drives that anyone would want anchoring the back end of a starting rotation.

Ryan

Jacob deGrom, Tom Seaver, Dwight Gooden, Jerry Koosman, Matt Harvey

Everyone’s top four in their dream rotation is the same, as deGrom, Seaver, Gooden and Koosman set themselves apart from the other starters in franchise history. My only little tweek for fun was putting deGrom over Seaver as my ace, but really that duo would be 1A and 1B in any dream rotation.

For the fifth starter, I even surprised myself when I decided to go with Matt Harvey. Harvey’s career with the Mets ended up being underwhelming but if we are assuming these pitchers are in their prime, then the 2013 Dark Knight deserves some recognition. That season, Harvey was lights outs, pitching to a 2.26 ERA across his 26 starts before going down with Tommy John surgery. His 2.01 FIP that year is the fourth-best mark from any Mets pitcher in franchise history.

Mojo

Tom Seaver, Jacob deGrom, Jerry Koosman, Jon Matlack, Dwight Gooden

Honestly, as great of a history of starting pitching as the Mets have, the top five are fairly clear to me. The top two are the most obvious and non-controversial; the only one of these five who I feel a little skeptical about is Gooden given his fall from grace. Still, there’s no denying how electric he was early in his career, and he still accomplished enough with the rest of his career that I feel comfortable putting him in the franchise top five. Despite his inconsistencies, he still has the second highest fWAR of any Mets pitcher ever, and his 1985 season is quite simply one of the best seasons ever pitched by anyone ever.

It’s a shame that I couldn’t include Matt Harvey on this list, as he absolutely had the talent and I firmly believe he would be up there with deGrom had his career not been derailed by injuries. Even so, I still believe he’s on the border of making it, and I wouldn’t be mad at anyone who did choose to put him in their top five. I also think Noah Syndergaard is close, and he’s still young enough that he could very well go down as one of the best pitchers in franchise history someday.

Michelle

Tom Seaver, Jacob deGrom, Jerry Koosman, Dwight Gooden, Johan Santana

I know, I know, no Bartolo Colon. But, I gotta go with this rotation, as it likely would be the GOAT of rotations, at least in terms of Mets players. You have The Franchise, the back-to-back Cy Young Winner, the man who helped The Franchise and the entire ’69 team get to and win the World Series, the 4x All-Star, Cy Young Winner, and Rookie of the Year winner, and the only pitcher in Mets history to pitch a no-hitter. The fifth spot is the toss-up as we all know, but that’s a testament to just how great the starters the Mets have had throughout the years. Tom Glavine, Al Leiter, Ron Darling, Noah Syndergaard, Jon Matlack, heck even a prime Matt Harvey — I could go on, but I’ll refrain.