Mets History: How the 2010 MLB Draft shaped the decade

Nearly a decade ago, the New York Mets stormed into the 2010 MLB Draft and nabbed two future star pitchers that helped define the decade: Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom.

The 2010 Major League Baseball draft class was star-studded. Filled with current All-Stars selected in the first round, including Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, and Chris Sale, this draft changed baseball. New York Mets fans were ecstatic when the team drafted right-hand pitcher Matt Harvey out the University of North Carolina with the seventh overall pick. Little did the fans know that the current ace and reigning National League Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom was selected with the 272nd pick in the ninth round from Stetson University.

265 picks later. In the ninth round. Hindsight bias, but no player of deGrom’s caliber would typically result from a pick that late in the draft.

One came rushing through the system with surreal expectations and much promise. A huge prospect with immense amounts of hype. One battled injury and patiently waited until the team needed a spot-start. As the Dark Knight’s time in New York faded away months ago, original underdog deGrom is ready to take the mound for the Amazins’ Opening Day.

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Harvey, now 30, left the Mets last season via a trade with the Cincinnati Reds. Ending in a feud with the organization, his exit was not very smooth. Before he was sidetracked by multiple surgeries, Harvey would become the Dark Knight every fifth game and dominate for the Mets.

Debuting in 2012 and then becoming a star in 2013, there were sky-high expectations for the right-hander. He started the National League All-Star Game that season and was emerging as the star of New York City. Everybody remembers how dominant he was in 2013, starting 26 games, posting a 2.27 ERA, and finishing fourth in the National League Cy Young voting, losing to Los Angeles Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw.

At the end of the season, Harvey tore his UCL and required Tommy John Surgery. He missed the whole 2014 season but rehabbed to become a vital part of the team’s postseason run in 2015.

Returning to greatness in 2015, Harvey won 13 games and struck out 188 batters over 189 1/3 innings. He was the ace of a dominant postseason rotation: Harvey, deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz. The team’s pitching was a huge reason why they won the pennant.

Winning both his starts in the 2015 NLDS and NLCS, Harvey was an unstoppable force for the Mets in October. His World Series no-decisions were both losses. His Game 5 battle against the Kansas City Royals still haunts fans to this day.

The 2016 season was a weird year for Harvey. Starting off struggling, coaches began to notice issues with his mechanics. As being placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 15, he opted to have season-ending surgery to resolve thoracic outlet syndrome. He was never the same after that lingering injury. In 2017, after recovering, Harvey was suspended by the team for violating team rules. There were allegations that Harvey was out late drinking the night before a start. 2018 was another bad start for Harvey. After the team sent him to the bullpen, he was traded. Ending the tales of the Dark Knight in New York.

In his last three season with the Mets, he had a 5.39 ERA over 211 innings and went 9-19. If it was the self-inflicted trauma after losing the 2015 World Series or just the amount of trauma his body has been through, Harvey has not been the same in years. Hopefully, he can put together a strong season for the Los Angeles Angels, who signed the righty to one-year, $11 million deal this winter.

deGrom, a diamond in the rough, to say the least, already blown past original expectations for him. Being picked in the ninth round nobody knew that deGrom would bloom into the stud he is at 30. Winning a  Cy Young award, the 2014 N.L. Rookie of the Year Award and being selected to two All-Star selections, he is only just getting started.

With five impressive seasons in the books. With five seasons down, and deGrom looks to continue to make his case for Cooperstown when the time comes.  deGrom’s tenure with the Mets just got longer, as he was extended. The deal is a five-year extension, worth $137.5 million.

When the 2010 draft concluded, the Mets acquired the ace of their franchise without even knowing it. Originally, thinking Harvey would turn into the team’s ace and carry the Mets’ rotation for years to come. This did not happen obviously and Harvey did not meet his sky-high expectations.

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Harvey’s time in Flushing has come and gone and New York will always remember him for what he did for the team in 2013 and 2015. But deGrom is here to stay. Battling through the ranks to get where he is today, Jacob deGrom is here to stay and lead the Mets into the 2019 season and beyond.