Mets News: Can Marcus Stroman really snatch the Cy Young from Jacob deGrom?

Is Marcus Stroman a legitimate Cy Young contender as New York Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner suggests he could be?

New York Mets pitching coach Jeremy Hefner had some high praise for Marcus Stroman recently, suggesting he’s the man who could “easily push” Jacob deGrom in the race for the 2020 Cy Young Award.

It’s not something Mets fans are taking lightly. When we shared the original SNY article about the topic on Facebook, people were upset. The name Anthony Kay was brought up as it often is whenever we have anything nice to say about Stroman.

Hey, I get it. Kay’s last name means strikeout. He could have a really good career ahead of him. He may even end up as the left-handed version of Stroman.

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Fans seem a bit torn on what they think of Stroman. While some have embraced him and enjoyed his personality on social media, some have been rubbed the wrong way.

Often, Stroman does have something to say. Personally, I don’t feel it’s anything to get upset over. But perhaps that’s because I’m not easily offended and already agree with the stances he takes.

Back to baseball—I’m curious how likely it is for us to actually see Stroman do what Hefner believes he can. Is it possible that after losing Noah Syndergaard for the year we see Stroman deliver in the ways we always thought he would?

Stroman’s lifetime numbers include a 51-47 record and 3.76 ERA. A 4.37 ERA in 2016 and far worse 5.54 in 2018 make the number worse than he’s actually capable of. For the grief Stroman sometimes gets for his 2019 Mets performance, he still did go 4-2 with a 3.77 ERA. Combined with his Toronto Blue Jays numbers, he ended the year 10-13 with a 3.22 ERA.

Those numbers are not close to anything that should warrant a Cy Young. Then again, we’ve been surprised before. Remember when Rick Porcello won the award a few years back?

Hefner’s belief in Stroman is based on his talent and not the numbers from the past. Although he has only received Cy Young consideration once back in 2017, he’s definitely an electric enough player to have a career year in 2020 or even beyond.

Hopefully, if it does happen in the beyond section of life, he’s still wearing orange and blue.

I’m not sure any Stroman haters will ever come around. Their dislike of him is personal. He doesn’t have the added benefit of coming up through the system as a Met either.

Personality aside, Stroman is definitely capable of putting together a magical season where he contends for a Cy Young. The greatest challenge is outperforming deGrom. In that aspect, I tend to disagree with Hefner.

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Nobody has been able to outshine deGrom for the past two seasons. Maybe Stroman is the guy to usurp the throne in 2020. I would love to see him try.