David Peterson ended his season with optimism

As the New York Mets season heads towards the final weekend, it is time to look at players who have been playing well towards the end of the season and if they should get roster spots in 2024. There have been many players who have raised some eyebrows like DJ Stewart, Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos to name a few, but if the Mets want to get back into contention next year, starting pitching needs to be addressed.

Don't get me wrong, rookie starter Kodai Senga has been phenomenal and Joey Lucchesi has certainly been impressive in his limited action this season as well as Jose Butto. But what about former first round pick, lefty David Peterson? Yes, his numbers don't replicate a great season and he really has never found much consistency since he arrived in 2020. But after his latest start against the Miami Marlins on Thursday, Peterson showed some good signs that he can be a reliable starter in the major leagues.

NY Mets starting pitcher David Peterson finished his season off strong

David Peterson has had a very up-and-down tenure with the Mets. From a strong rookie season in 2020, from and injury-rattled rattled season followed in 2021 and from his struggles in 2022 resulting in being put in the bullpen, the Mets and Mets fans had to be frustrated with his performances. But despite his record and bloated ERA, his last several starts are ones to be encouraged about.

Put this into perspective, when Peterson won a starting pitching spot, his ERA by mid-May was a woeful 8.08 in eight starts that he made. Because of that, Peterson was demoted to the minor leagues as he was in search of some kind of consistency. But when Peterson got recalled by late June, in the 19 games that he pitched with 13 of them being starts, he had quite he turnaround as he pitched to a much more respectable ERA of 3.38 and finished off his season in a spectacular way pitching seven scoreless innings against the Marlins to finish his season.

Sure, Peterson's stats this season don't replicate a great season as he went 3-8 with an ERA of 5.03, but those numbers he put up since he got called back up in mid-June are encouraging. Starting pitching is definitely a question mark for the Mets in 2024 and the Mets should consider Peterson as a liable option based on his strong turnaround.