Noah Syndergaard admitted that he doesn’t deserve to pitch for the Mets right now and that it goes beyond his 5.74 ERA this season for Triple-A Las Vegas.
In an interview with Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal, the young right-hander said he’s had to do a lot of growing up, believing he was major league ready during spring camp and counting the days until the Super 2 deadline to make his debut.
“I was thinking about that [Super 2] almost constantly,” he admitted.
Diamond writes that with his celebrity rising to unreasonable heights, Syndergaard succumbed to his own hype as one of baseball’s most heralded prospects. He now realizes that succeeding at the highest level requires more than a 100-mph fastball and a curve, understanding that he lacks the maturity and knowledge which can only be attained with experience.
Initially, Syndergaard believed he was following the same path as Matt Harvey and Zack Wheeler, but realizes they were older and more polished pitchers. “They were ready at that point. And right now, I don’t think I’m ready.”
You can’t blame the kid. You may remember how upset I was about all the comments from Mets management that we’d see Syndergaard in June or July. I said at the time that it was irresponsible for the front office to put those types of expectations and pressure on a 20-year old pitcher.
I also felt he was being rushed, barely pitching a half season each in Advanced-A and Double-A. What was the big rush, he’s just a kid…
Syndergaard says he still wrestles with the subtle nuances of pitching, the intricacies that separate “throwing” from “pitching.” “I’ve had a hard time knowing what to throw in certain situations,” he said.
I’m just glad that Syndergaard is smart enough to realize that this isn’t a setback, but just a part of the normal development process.
He’s going to be just fine.
(Updated by Joe D.)
June 18
It must have been a nice start to the day on Thursday for Noah Syndergaard, as ESPN’s Keith Law published his Top 50 prospects. Syndergaard was listed at #16 which is eight spots higher from the preseason rankings. Thursday night however, wasn’t as pleasant.
Syndergaard was on the mound for the Las Vegas 51’s Thursday night, looking to build on what was arguably his best start of the season his last time out. It wouldn’t quite go that way, as he lasted five innings giving up seven runs on nine hits, with three walks and five strikeouts.
Salt Lake would get to him early, as they rattled off three straight singles in the first inning that would eventually lead to 3-0 score. They weren’t playing very gracious hosts as they would add to the lead in the second with two hits, a walk, three stolen bases, and two more runs.
Syndergaard would settle in for the third and fourth innings giving up just two hits. A combination of Tommy Field’s 2-run home run and a pitch count up to 90 in the fifth would put an end to his night.
Final pitching line from Thursday night: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 5 K (90 pitches, 53 strikes)
The 7 Earned runs allowed by Syndergaard are the most he’s allowed in a start since 8/26/13 when he gave up 9 in Double-A Binghamton.
It has been a relatively tough season for one of the top pitching prospects. I am not the only that had hoped to see Syndergaard pitching for the Mets this summer, but I feel that it finishing out the season in Vegas might be a better option.
