Joey Lucchesi Feels Prepared for ‘New Beginning’ With Mets

With Carlos Carrasco set to miss time at the beginning of the season, the Mets are going to need their starting pitching depth to step up. The front-office made that area a major focus this offseason, and thus far in camp the competition has been strong and said depth has certainly been on display.

One of the standouts of that group thus far has been left-hander Joey Lucchesi. The southpaw made his third start of the spring, and though he missed a few spots later on in the outing, Lucchesi told reporters postgame he was encouraged by the overall effort.

The funky left-hander got himself off to a strong start, cruising through the first two innings. He retired the Astros in order, featuring a Michael Brantley strike out in the bottom of the first. He then struck out Yordan Alvarez and Carlos Correa en route to a scoreless second inning.

His third inning of work is where Lucchesi said he missed just two spots and as a result, ran into some trouble. After doubling and stealing third, Myles Straw came in to score on a Jose Altuve RBI single. Robel Garcia then doubled down the line, ultimately chasing Lucchesi from the ballgame.

Jerry Blevins then entered and allowed a two run double to Michael Brantley, with both runs being charged to Lucchesi. As spring training rules allow, Lucchesi returned to the mound in the fourth, and tossed a very easy perfect inning to close out his afternoon.

Overall on the day, Lucchesi threw 66 pitches and allowed three runs on four hits, while striking out four over three innings of work. This spring, Lucchesi has thrown a total of eleven innings and allowed just the three runs on four hits while walking three and striking out eleven.

When asked about the competition for the fifth spot in the rotation, Lucchesi told reporters right now he’s just focusing on doing his thing out there on the mound. The southpaw said, “I can only focus on what I’m doing and being the best version of myself. That’s the best thing you can do.”

Despite the three runs against in Monday’s outing, the left-hander has certainly made a very strong case for a spot in the backend of the Mets’ starting rotation.

Lucchesi called this opportunity with the Mets a “new beginning” and said he truly feels refreshed and prepared every time he takes the mound. The 27-year old has some upside left, and could potentially become a key piece for the 2021 New York Mets.