2 Mets players whose suddenly hot September we should buy into, 1 we’re still perplexed by
These Mets are suddenly hot and at least two are worth buying into. The other remains perplexing.
A hot September is a good way to end a baseball season. No team is proving more it’s how you finish and not how you start more than the New York Mets. From 0-5 and written off multiple times throughout 2024, they’ve battled back to the point where not only are they in contention for a playoff spot but should be taken as a serious threat to win it all.
A big part of their success in September has been the success from some players we lost faith in along the way this year. Of them, two shouldn’t surprise us. Another remains perplexing.
Buy into Mets pitcher Jose Quintana heating up
Jose Quintana may never give up another run again. Through 3 starts and 20.2 innings of work in September, the veteran lefty has been brilliant. He has earned a win in each outing while putting together a much-needed performance to help give the Mets an even more complete rotation.
Your eyes will sting from reading all of the positive things there are to say about Mets starting pitchers this month. Sean Manaea is headed toward receiving some mild Cy Young consideration on top of a big fat contract. David Peterson has continued his excellent breakout campaign. Those two have continued what they did all year. Quintana is a bit different.
August was not kind to Quintana. In 6 starts, he went 1-3 with a 5.63 ERA. It looked like his ending with the Mets would be a sad one. Then the calendar flipped and the crafty southpaw has been untouchable.
Why buy into Quintana? He has done this before. In 2022 after he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, Quintana managed to post a 0.81 ERA in his final 33.1 innings spanning 6 starts. He made one successful start in the postseason as well, but his Cardinals teammates blew it.
September/October has been Quintana’s second-best month of his career in terms of ERA. At 3.47, he’s just doing what he always seems to. Buy into him making staying red hot.
Mets reliever Reed Garrett has turned spectacular again
Although he allowed some inherited runners to score last weekend, Reed Garrett has yet to be charged with a run this month. His 8.2 innings of work includes 11 strikeouts and maybe most spectacular of all for him, a single walk. Garrett is throwing strikes consistently and looking like he did back in April.
It was in that first month after he was summoned from Syracuse when Garrett inexplicably went 5-0 with a 0.57 ERA. A single earned run in 15.2 innings to go with his 28 strikeouts made Garrett an early puzzle Mets fans couldn’t figure out. Where did this come from?
Then came May when Garrett and the rest of the bullpen got hammered. He pitched to a 6.08 ERA. Ever since, he has been far more mediocre and less trustworthy. He had a 4.50 ERA in August in 6 innings of work that also happened to include 2 losses.
In a long baseball season, it’s easy to forget about guys like Garrett who came into the year with zero expectations. He raised the bar early on for himself. Back to being one of the more trustworthy relievers in the bullpen, it shouldn’t surprise anyone. A decrease in his workload has absolutely seemed to benefit him.
Tylor Megill remains a Mets enigma but let’s give him some credit
Will the real Tylor Megill please stand up? If it’s the guy we’ve seen in September, stick around a while.
Buying into Megill’s 1.69 ERA through 3 September starts is giving him a little too much credit. He didn’t have a particularly great start against the Boston Red Sox for his first September start. However, back-to-back appearances without an earned run plus 6 innings of one-hit baseball with 9 strikeouts versus the Toronto Blue Jays have helped make Megill far more than a roster filler this month. Taking the place of Paul Blackburn on the roster for several weeks now, he has benefitted from facing four non-playoff teams.
The Mets have been careful about who they use and when in the rotation. Next set to face the Philadelphia Phillies if the Mets don’t make any rotation changes, he’ll have maybe the most important start of his career coming up.
Do we buy into the success? Eh, it does feel like we’ve seen too many bad performances out of him to invest just yet.
The recent success has already pushed Megill’s ERA to a career-best 4.08 on the season. A strong finish that will include only another start or possibly two, we’re incredibly grateful for what Megill is doing this month even if he remains the biggest enigma on the roster.