On this day in 2010, which believe it or not was now 11 years ago, the Mets drafted a former college shortstop by the name of Jacob deGrom in the ninth round, and the rest was history.

The right-handed thrower was strictly a shortstop during his freshman season at Stetson, then pitched in only one game as a sophomore before making 17 appearances (12 starts) and posting a 4.48 ERA as a junior.

DeGrom, of course, jumped straight into the minors as a pitcher, posting a 5.19 ERA in 26 innings for the Kingsport Mets before going down to Tommy John surgery at the age of 22.

DeGrom came back strong in 2012 though, accelerating his minor league development and getting back on his trajectory. Despite some mixed results in 2013, he zoomed through all the minor league levels and made his MLB debut in 2014.

To say he did not disappoint would be an understatement, as he posted a 2.69 ERA and 9.2 K/9 in 22 starts en route to winning the National League Rookie of the Year award.

DeGrom certainly hasn’t looked back since then, making at least 24 starts in five consecutive years. He achieved his first All-Star nod in his first full big league season in 2015, a year in which he helped the Mets reach the World Series, and has since made the All-Star team in 2018 and 2019.

As impressive as his career has been to date, 2018 was something even more special as he dazzled his way to a 1.70 ERA and 11.2 K/9 as he easily took home the National League Cy Young award. He followed that up with another impressive campaign in 2019, as he posted a 2.43 ERA and took home a second consecutive Cy Young.

He led the league with 104 strikeouts and 13.8 K/9 innings, while posting a 2.38 ERA, 2.26 FIP, and 0.95 WHIP, and finished third in Cy Young voting during the 2020 pandemic shortened season.

So far in 2021, deGrom looks like he’s ready to take back that Cy Young award.

Through nine starts, he’s posted an incredible 0.62 ERA, allowing just four earned runs, issuing just eight walks, and striking out 93 batters over 58 innings pitched. He’s also pitched in offensively as well, hitting .391 with an .826 OPS, 133 OPS+, and a trio of runs batted in along the way.

Never letting the frustrations of the lack of run support from his teammates get to him, deGrom has been a quiet but fearless leader of this team for years now, and the Mets were extraordinarily lucky to acquire such an elite talent out of the ninth round in 2010.

DeGrom is not only the best pitcher in baseball right now, but quite possibly also one of the best athletes in the game as well. When it’s all said and done, he’ll certainly end up going down as one of the best pitchers in all of Mets franchise history.