IT'S A THRILLER COMBO
Syndergaard, deGrom form 1-2 rotation tandem that will be tough to defeat
When Noah Syndergaard tore his right lat muscle lastlas April 30 at Nationals Park, the Mets lostlos not only baseball’s most electric pitchpitcher but also their special rotation. For whatwhatever came behind Syndergaardgaard and Jacob deGrom, the Mets’ hopes ofo competing last season hinged largelyl on a 1-2 combo atop the rotationrota that rivaled, if not surpassed,passed, any in baseball. And that same phphilosophy holds as the Mets attempt tto compete for the playoffs in 2018. In ThuThursday’s opener at Citi Field, the Mets didn’t receive their best SyndergaSyndergaard, but he was good enoughenough, allowing four runs over six inninginnings with 10 strikeouts in a 9-4 victorvictory over the Cardinals. The secosecond half of the combo will geget the ball Saturday, when deGrom starts against the Cardinals. “You kind of always see it wwith the winning teams, the mmore successful teams, they hahave got that 1-2 punch,” Jay BruBruce said. “Our 1-2 punch, you put it up againstagai anybody.” As much aas Syndergaard and deGrom are linked, it’sit’ been difficult to get them together in theth last year-plus. There was last April for the tandem and the final week of the regular season, when the Mets were buried in the playoff race and Syndergaard returned from the disabled list to pitch three innings to clear a mental hurdle heading to the winter.
DeGrom missed the final month of the 2016 season — as the Mets were surging to secure a National League wild-card berth — with a displaced ulnar nerve in his elbow that necessitated surgery.
Most discussion of the top 1-2 combos in baseball starts with the Nationals’ Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg. Dallas Keuchel/Justin Verlander (Astros), Corey Kluber/Carlos Carrasco (Indians), Chris Sale/David Price (Red Sox), Luis Severino/Masahiro Tanaka (Yankees) and Clayton Kershaw/Rich Hill (Dodgers) are also among those on a short list with Syndergaard and deGrom for consideration.
“Scherzer and Strasburg, you have got to put them at No. 1, just because the Mets’ guys haven’t been out there,” a major league talent evaluator said. “There is still a lot of potential there. We are talking, assuming the Mets guys are going to be healthy and assuming they are going to perform.”
The evaluator mentioned Syndergaard has never pitched 200 innings in a season and deGrom only reached that plateau for the first time in 2017. Scherzer, the twotime defending NL Cy Young Award winner, has surpassed 200 innings in the past five seasons. Strasburg has reached 200 innings once.
Another major league talent evaluator placed Syndergaard/deGrom behind only Scherzer/Strasburg on the list. A third talent evaluator went with Syndergaard/ deGrom ahead of the others based on the premise that when the Mets tandem is healthy, it possesses the top overall upside.
Though Syndergaard throws a 100-mph fastball and is the most celebrated pitcher on the Mets staff, two of the three evaluators said deGrom should be considered the team ace. The other evaluator placed deGrom and Syndergaard on equal footing.
“We could sit here all day and talk about how they are different, but both have tremendous stuff and are bulldogs out there,” Bruce said. “They want the ball. In that sense, they are the same.”
The two evaluators who placed deGrom ahead of Syndergaard pointed to deGrom’s durability and track record.
“What’s impressive about both guys throughout their careers is their poise,” one evaluator said. “When you think of Syndergaard when he first came up [in 2015] and how he performed in the World Series, and deGrom from Day 1 always looked like he belonged. In that respect, they have always carried themselves that way. They have always acted like they knew they were good. They both have the attributes.”