Mets’ Alderson shares expectations of young starting pitchers

When Zack Wheeler returns from Tommy John surgery, the Mets will have their ‘dream rotation’ together for the first time

Mets GM Sandy Alderson discussed the upcoming season during an interview with Buster Olney of ESPN that focused heavily on what to expect from the team’s young starting pitchers.

Here’s a bit of what Alderson had to say…

On what’s next for Matt Harvey regarding his development:

"“Probably his full assortment of pitches coming back. He’s been working on his slider again, which is something I think he tried to stay away from last year, coming off the injury. …Probably the other thing is just being there every fifth day, not having to worry about innings limits. …I think it’s just going out and hopefully hitting that 200 inning mark again and demonstrating that he’s not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball today.”"

On what the next step is for Jacob deGrom:

"“He’s accomplished so much so quickly, and he’s done it — really not in the shadow of Matt Harvey because he’s kind of emerged from that shadow.  I think it’s just consistency over time. And demonstrating what he’s done over the fist year and a half or so of his career is something we can expect over the next several  years. He’s got such a great personality and handles everything so well that I think he’s got a great future because he’s so level-headed.”"

On how Noah Syndergaard‘s personality differs  from the other guys in rotation and how quickly he’s matured:

"“He has really surprised a lot of people, including myself in some respects, with his maturity over the last year. If you go back to spring training of last year and in this camp today, he was basically a kid on his way up, highly touted. But with no resume other than his work at the minor league level. And this year, he’s an integral component of not only the team but the clubhouse. He’s just blossomed. With his professional development has come his maturity as well. He’s become very popular in New York and among his teammates, and has handled it well. Really reflecting far more maturity than one would expect from somebody of his age whose had the kind of meteoric rise over the last year on the field.”"

On what to expect from Steven Matz:

"“We think he’s gonna be an outstanding pitcher. …As down to earth as you might expect from somebody out on the island, but very professional. If we can keep him healthy, which we hope will be the case this year, he has a chance to be right there witih the others.”"

On Zack Wheeler’s potential and how he responded to the Mets slowing his rehab down:

"“Zack has a tremendous amount of potential that we saw before his injury. He’s been incredibly diligent and patient with his rehab . …I’m really hopeful that not only is the elbow fixed, but a lot of the pain with which he had to pitch over the years — well before the rupture occurred in his elbow — is gone, and is gonna contribute to his command as well as his return to velocity.”"

Alderson said a lot, but the key quotes were regarding Harvey’s arsenal, Syndergaard’s rise, and what to expect from Wheeler.

Harvey suggested prior to last season that he’d probably shy away from his slider, which causes the most stress on his elbow. And he did just that, throwing it just 14.1 percent of the time after using it 18.5 percent of the time in 2013. And when he did throw it, it wasn’t the plus-plus pitch it was in 2013.

Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen noted earlier this week that Harvey’s great slider is back, which would be tremendous news for the Mets and Harvey, who had a 2.71 ERA last season — largely without his best stuff.

The Syndergaard quote from Alderson is a great one since it sheds light on how well he’s been received, not only as a key part of the team, but as a respected cog in the clubhouse.

Before Syndergaard came up last year, one local radio and TV personality claimed that Syndergaard was too immature to handle New York, which is clearly not the case. And although that person is now using the above quote to try to vindicate what he said, he’s missing the mark by a lot.

As far as Wheeler, it was noted shortly after his Tommy John surgery that upon his return, he would be throwing pain-free for the first time in a while.

Next: Mets saved around $10 million due to Cuddyer's retirement

Wheeler improved his BB/9 to 3.84 in 2014 (down from 4.14 in 2013) and improved his K/9 to 9.08 (up from 7.56). If he has even better stuff to go along with improved command this season, look out.