NY Mets: 1 pitcher meeting, 1 exceeding, 1 short on expectations

Jul 21, 2021; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) talks with first baseman Pete Alonso (20) in the dugout during the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 21, 2021; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) talks with first baseman Pete Alonso (20) in the dugout during the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 12, 2021; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Marcus Stroman (0) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

The New York Mets pitching staff has had a few different iterations this season. Early on, things were excellent. Starting pitching carried them and the bullpen was able to shut the door.

Eventually, injuries began to catch up with just about everyone. Even those who managed to stay off the IL saw their career years evaporate. Overall, the pitching staff has been a strong point of the club.

Not everyone has done what was expected of them. Jacob deGrom, for example, was well on his way to having a legendary season until his body had other plans. He didn’t make this list of one Mets pitcher to meet, exceed, or come up short on expectations merely because I’m not quite sure how to rate his season quite yet. Maybe when the season is over he’ll earn a spot on a future version of this list. For now, these are the three Mets pitchers who have met, exceeded, and come up short on expectations.

Marcus Stroman has met the lofty expectations we had for him

Marcus Stroman has had a very strange year. He has been everything from excellent to average and yet it doesn’t show in his record. It’ll be a real battle for him to finish with a .500 record or better and he may do so with an ERA below 3.00.

After Stroman talked a big game all offseason, he has done plenty to back it up. Although he might not have Cy Young numbers, Stroman has certainly been the number two starter we asked him to be.

In fact, you could probably say Stroman has even exceeded expectations. Faulty at times, I feel the need to rank him closer to just meeting expectations rather than passing them.

Whichever you prefer, Stroman has been brilliant for the Mets this year.