Mets Season in Review: Jerry Blevins

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Jun 30, 2016; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Jerry Blevins (39) reacts after getting the final out of the top of the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field. The Mets defeated the Cubs 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

Judging him by his 2014 season with the Nationals, Blevins pitched very well.

Pitching to an ERA of 4.87 in 2014, he lowered it to 2.79 in his first full season with the Mets last year. He also pitched in more games in 2016 (73) than any other season of his big league career.

A big difference we saw last year was that Blevins was primarily used as a lefty specialist, rather than a two-way pitcher in previous years.

While he can get righties out, manager Terry Collins used him towards his advantages. While he pitched in more games last year than previously in 2014 (73 compared to 64), he pitched in 15.1 more innings in 2014 than he did last year (57.1 compared to 42.0). This strategy was a good one because while Blevins was technically used more, he really wasn’t.

Blevins also struck out more per 9 innings than any other season in his career (11.1K’s/9 innings). A big reason to that was the way he was utilized, saving his arm, especially after an injury riddled season the previous year. Terry Collins, who does micro manage his bullpen most of the time, deserves credit for that.

How He Fared in 2016