A Closer Look at Josh Edgin

When Tim Byrdak went down with an injury during Spring Training, there was a lot of panic in Mets-land. The injury to Byrdak left the team without a left-handed reliever in the bullpen. The likes of Danny Herrera, Garrett Olson, and Chuck James seemed to be the substitute southpaws, but one other lefty truly emerged among the bunch. Josh Edgin.

Edgin was originally drafted by the Mets in the 2010 draft. The then 23 year-old quickly pegged himself as a bullpen strikeout artist, owning an impressive 11.9 K/9 across 34.6 innings in Rookie and Single-A. His success only continued in 2011, posting a combined 1.50 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 3.30 K/BB over 66 IP. The lefty also notched a whopping 27 Saves in the process.

While the lefty didn’t make John Sickels’ top 20 New York Mets prospects, Toby Hyde of Mets Minor League Blog had some nice words for the ‘pen hand:

"“His fastball sat 92-93, and touched 96 on occasion, with good movement and life down in the zone. His pitching coach, Glen Abbott said he thought it was the best fastball in the South Atlantic League.  It certainly was too much for SAL hitters.  The slider is mid-80s, with both horizontal movement and depth, perhaps too much.  He’ll need to tighten it at least a little to throw more strikes against more advanced hitters.”"

Going into Spring Training, there was little reason to suspect that the 25 year-old would make any noise. But Edgin impressed with a 0.00 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, and 4.33 K/BB in 10.3 IP. Due to the lack of lefty reliever depth, many fans–who once had never heard of Edgin–clamored for the reliever to make the roster. Smartly, however, the organization opted to give Edgin some time in Double-A before making the leap. Regardless of the pre-season decision, there is no doubt that Josh Edgin will hit the show at some point in 2012.