Anthony Kay/Photo by Ed Delany, MMN

New York Mets 2016 First rounder, Anthony Kay, has been doing his best to make up for lost time. The Long Island lefty fired six innings on Sunday and gave up just two unearned runs.

His final line was: 6 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 7 K, 92 pitches/58 strikes

This was Kay’s third start in St. Lucie and so far he has posted a 1.86 ERA at that level. His command is not as sharp as it was coming out of college but that is usually the last thing that returns after Tommy John Surgery.

Kay’s quick start in St. Lucie is a very pleasant development since he had trouble showing results in Columbia, a terrible hitters league. Kay posted a 4.54 ERA (granted he had a 3.55 FIP) there. Kay has more steps to take since this is only his third start but given how new he is to professional baseball and how much better his results have been compared to David Peterson, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic.

As mentioned, Kay is returning from the dreaded Tommy John Surgery which was a result of the abuse he suffered from the coaching staff at UCONN. So for that reason, Kay will be on an innings limit in 2018 and maybe even 2019. As it currently stands, Kay is at 88.2 innings pitched.

Looking back at the track record for starters in the Mets system coming off TJS, Jacob deGrom threw 111 innings in his first full professional year and Steven Matz threw 106 innings in his first pro season. Given that Kay has pitched more than those two in the past, I would think his innings limit will be around 120-125.

Regardless of when and where this season will end for Kay, there are a lot of positives to take from it. His velocity is back and he is able to succeed without fully regaining his command. I look for him to take a big step forward in 2019 and it’s feasible that he could reach the Majors. Kay was seen as a guy who would move up quickly and so far, he has demonstrated that ability to do so.