The last first-round draft pick of former New York Mets general manager Omar Minaya was used on University of North Carolina starting pitcher Matt Harvey in 2010. Harvey quickly dominated the minor leagues until The Mets called him up last July. Unlike most Met prospects, Harvey didn’t disappoint in his Major League Baseball debut as he struck out 11 Arizona Diamondbacks. Harvey’s 2012 record was 3-5 in 10 starts, but he struck out 70 batters in just 59.1 innings pitched.
Heading into 2013 you wondered about the “sophomore jinx”, but early on Harvey has put that notion to bed. In two starts Harvey has pitched 14 innings while striking out 19 batters including seven innings of one-run ball on Monday night against The Philadelphia Phillies. More than ever The Mets will need Harvey to anchor the starting pitching rotation as he is treading on the category of future staff ace. Mets starting pitcher Johan Santana held that role down to a degree during his six-year tenure with the team, but with his season over before it even started as a result of another shoulder injury, The Mets need some new blood in Harvey.
The Met organization has always been known for pitching. The 1960’s saw The Mets produce Hall of Fame starting pitchers in Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver while a third in Jerry Koosman won 140 games in 12 seasons with The Mets. The 1980’s produced 1984 National League Cy Young Award winner Dwight Gooden who is second to Seaver in Mets franchise history for wins (157) and strikeouts (1,875). Last season former Mets pitcher R.A. Dickey became a cult hero as he and his knuckle ball won 20 games while also collecting The NL Cy Young Award.
Whether at Shea Stadium or Citi Field, when these pitchers took the mound the fans would rapidly come through the turnstiles to watch them pitch because it was an event and Harvey has that kind of appeal as well which bodes well for Met owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon who have had trouble in filling the seats at Citi Field since the park opened in 2009.
To be a Met fan means that you must deal with frustration, but a pitcher like Harvey can solve that as his electric fastball excites fans. When Gooden struck out batters in the 80’s he became known as “Dr.K” and now Met nation must find a nickname for this new phenom.
Since Sandy Alderson became The Mets general manager in 2011 he has been busy stockpiling prospects, but the best one so far might have come to the organization before he arrived. Not only does Harvey appear to be The Mets ace of the future, but for a team that isn’t expected to contend in The NL East this season, he is a ray of hope every fifth day that he takes the mound.
Source:Baseball-reference.com
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