Steven Matz has always been in the background with this talented Mets rotation as Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard have properly been the main focus when experts analyze this pitching staff. In years past, Matt Harvey and to a certain extent, Zack Wheeler, have also been more discussed than Matz.

But that time has passed, as this team will need Matz to perform like he did on Sunday against the Brewers at Citi Field. On a weekend in which the two top Met hurlers got beat, Matz performed like a true stopper — hurling seven innings of two run ball, allowing Mickey Callaway to use his bullpen the right way — to merely lock down the last six outs of the game.

Performances like this will also allow the Mets to empty their bullpen on nights when Jason Vargas only goes five innings which will make it more likely hurlers like Seth Lugo won’t be overused in late inning situations.

The other thing it does for the Mets is give them some left-handed balance in the rotation, especially considering how poorly Vargas has pitched thus far this season. I remember that debut of Matz back in 2015 and how I was wowed by his stuff, but I was also impressed by the late movement of his pitches, plus his usage of non-fastballs in fastball hitting counts.

Matz also pitches so well at Citi Field and the team needs to take advantage of that as, quite frankly, they sometimes look more comfortable on the road than they do in Flushing. Since June 3 of last season, Matz has carved out 10 quality starts at home and this year in a smaller sample size, is 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA.  How good has he been at Citi? He has allowed six hits or less in his last 15 starts at home.

I saw from early on in Spring Training Matz developed a great rapport with Wilson Ramos as the two spent countless hours on the backfields discussing approach and implementing those revelations in both bullpen sessions and exhibition games. I realize Matz had that real poor performance in Philly on April 16, but aside from that contest, he has never surrendered more than two earned runs in any other 2019 start.

If this staff gets rolling, Matz can be a big force in making opponents feel the depth of a rotation that has a quartet of hard throwing pitchers that could give fits to any lineup in baseball. No doubt Matz still has much to prove, but I am seeing an air of confidence that was missing to me since his rookie year of 2015. And that is why throughout Spring Training I kept saying Matz could be one of biggest keys for the Mets in 2019.

If he keeps performing like he did against the Brewers, he could very well be a great illustration of how deep and talented this Met roster is and how that could translate into a playoff spot for them.