Mets 2017 Season Preview: Which pitcher are you most excited to watch this season?

JT. Teran, Editor

As a fellow southpaw, my pick for the pitcher I’m most excited to watch this season is Steven Matz. The Long Island lefty is going into his third season with the Mets, and although he’s a lock for the rotation, he still has a lot to prove.

While he pitched in the playoffs and the World Series in 2015, Matz has yet to pitch in a full season with New York. That first postseason year, he was called up late, so his workload wasn’t as substantial. Even then, he suffered a partially torn lat muscle which caused him to miss some time. Last year, Matz’s season was also interrupted by injury. He suffered from bone spurs in his left elbow that would eventually end his campaign.

Because of this small track record, Matz’s biggest goal this year will surely be to stay healthy. He’s shown that he can be a big contributor to this rotation when he actually takes the mound, so 2017 could be huge for him.

If he’s able to finally stay healthy for most of the season and give the Mets around 30 starts, it’ll be a huge confidence boost. However, if the opposite happens, and Matz is again unable to complete an entire year on the field, the Mets might have to think of a different approach for the lefty going forward.