Mike Puma of the New York Post writes that the Mets top pitching prospect, Noah Syndergaard continues to puzzle the Mets. According to sources, Puma adds that even though Syndergaard’s stuff is electric at Vegas, his is still struggling to get results.
“He needs more time,” a major league evaluator, who recently watched Syndergaard pitch, tells Puma. “His stuff is better than [Zack] Wheeler’s, but his fastball command has been way too inconsistent. You would be afraid of some real big innings if you brought him to the majors.”
Syndergaard, 21, through nine starts with the 51s, is 5-2, a 3.88 ERA, with 51 strike outs in 48.2 innings. On Friday against El Paso, Thor allowed just two earned runs on six hits, with two walks and five strikeouts over five innings. In this last five appearances, he is 3-0 (2 ND), and has given up, 31 hits, 12 runs (10 earned), and has 36 strike outs and nine walks in 28.2 innings.
“He’s got three way-above-average pitches,” the evaluator said. “His changeup at this time is better than [Matt] Harvey’s was and he’s got a good breaking ball. He’s just too inconsistent right now.”
With Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom already in the Mets rotation, the hope is that Syndergaard is not too far behind, and if the evaluator is correct in his findings, the Mets may decide to delay his promotion until he can prove otherwise.
I’m not sure this evaluator knows what he’s talking about. A look at Thor’s numbers and the fact that he’s in the upper echelon of all starting pitchers in the PCL, makes it difficult for me to take these quotes very seriously.
He compares Syndergaard to Wheeler saying his stuff is better but his command is inconsistent, yet a quick glance shows Syndergaard has the better walk rate (3.1 vs 3.8) in Triple-A.
Of course Thor’s numbers were not going to be what we saw in Double-A given that he’s now facing more advanced hitters and is pitching in a notorious hitter-friendly environment and more specifically home park in Cashman Field. And let’s not forget he’s two years younger than Wheeler.
With the logjam of arms already in the majors, there’s no need whatsoever to rush Syndergaard anyway. When he’s ready, he’s ready. Whenever that is.
(Photo Credit: Howard Simmons/NY Daily News)
