METS ARM UP
Two Amazin’ pitchers in Double-A turning heads
THEY notice it, too. The ones in the wings have a clear line of vision to the struggles and injuries infesting the Mets’ rotation.
“I mean, yeah, it is,” said Corey Oswalt, when asked if the revolving door of the Mets pitching staff serves as extra motivation for him. “But my main motivation is to go out there and take care of myself.”
The best rotation in baseball has become the most concerning, a seven-deep arsenal in spring giving way to prayers that journeyman Tommy Milone can be serviceable. Should more injury and ineffectiveness strike, the in-house options aren’t alluring. Tyler Pill has seen success in Triple-A Las Vegas, but the soft-throwing righty has been the lone bright spot on the 51s’ staff.
Digging deeper into the farm system unearths a pair of Double-A pitchers who can see the slim outlines of an opportunity forming: Oswalt and P.J. Conlon.
Oswalt, 23, was a seventhround pick in 2012 out of high school in San Diego. His climb through the Mets’ organization has, perhaps predictably, only been sidetracked by injuries, including a shoulder ailment that cut his season in half last year. But the right-hander, who sports a 2.80 ERA in six starts this season at Double-A Binghamton, said he finally feels healthy.
“I’m in great shape,” said Oswalt, who can hit the mid-90s with his sinker and said he’s happy with his slider’s progress. “Just feel healthy again, just out there competing. My stuff has gotten better every year as I get stronger and keep developing.”
Striking out 33 while allowing 26 hits and 11 walks in 35¹/3 innings has caught the Mets’ attention.
“He’s done a really nice job at Double-A this year,” Mets director of minor league operations Ian Levin said of the 6-foot-5, 245-pound pitcher. “He’s done well to continue to pound the strike zone and get ahead of hitters. Really shown good progress.”
Levin was evasive about whether he could envision Oswalt or his more-hyped teammate, Conlon, leapfrogging Triple-A to be this year’s Robert Gsellman or Seth Lugo. Levin was unabashed in his praise for Conlon, though, a 23-year-old born in Belfast trying to be the first Irish-born player to make the majors since Joe Cleary in 1945.
“He’s just a great pitcher, has a really good idea of how to use his stuff,” Levin said of the University of San Diego product. “Changes location, changes speed. Keeps hitters off balance. He’s done it at every level.”
The 46 2/3 innings Conlon has thrown this season are his first past Single-A. He’s moving quickly through the system more with accuracy than velocity, a strikethrower who has walked just seven this season. He has taken pride in locating his fastball, which runs about 90 mph, but his best pitch is a changeup, perhaps an homage to his boyhood idol.
“One of my favorite pitchers growing up was Johan Santana,” Conlon said of the two-time Cy Young winner and former Met. “He has a little more fastball velocity than I do, but he has that really good changeup and his command was really good.
“The way he was able to command the fastball, and that changeup that he’d go to that was just nasty. When I was younger I wore No. 57 and stuff because of him and try to be like him.”
Oswalt and Conlon represent two reasons for hope with a team that’s desperate for any. This season, they have been more the outliers the norms. The fact is, the struggles of the Mets’ top pitchers are not confined to the big league ranks. Their fourth-best prospect, last year’s first-round pick Justin Dunn, has a 6.21 ERA in 372/3 innings at Single-A St. Lucie.
“Absolutely not,” Levin said when asked if there is concern over Dunn’s numbers. “Just part of the transition process into professional baseball. He’s learning a lot from the experience he’s getting right now, and I think he’ll be better for it in the long run.” msanchez@nypost.com