This week’s Boom or Bust centers around B-Mets right-hander Erik Goeddel, who was our 24th round pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. Goeddel, who is slated to start the B-Mets game later today, is 8-3 this season with a 3.94 ERA in 89.0 innings. He has struck out 86 while walking 39. Goeddel has a history of strong numbers in the minor leagues, coming off a 3.41 ERA in Advanced-A St. Lucie in ’12 and a 3.24 ERA in Savannah and the GCL team in ’11.

John Bernhardt:

After a slow start, B-Met right-handed starting pitcher Erik Goeddel is off and running. Following four straight winless starts, Goeddel has been flying since May, chalking up a 5-0 win/loss mark before the halfway point of the season. Over that span, Goeddel had a 3.46 ERA, held opponents to a .216 batting averaged and fanned 8.2 batters per nine innings thrown. The B-Met program cites an altered grip on Goeddel’s change-up as a big part of the improvement. Goeddel is noted for an effective breaking ball, too. He’s second on the team in victories with eight, trailing Logan Verrett by one. He is allowing less than one hit per inning and striking out just under one batter for each inning pitched. Verdict: Boom

Matt Musico:

Goeddel has quietly been having a good season with Double-A Binghamton. His success has been overshadowed by that of Verrett, but it’s getting tougher to ignore; he’s allowed more than three runs just once in his last ten starts, and has shutout the opposition four other times. I would think he’s eventually destined for the bullpen with only two pitches, but the emergence of his change-up has made me think about it for another second. However, I want to see him continue cultivating that pitch not only through the end of this year, but into next year. For whatever reason, I just think he’ll end up in the bullpen, so that will be my best guess for right now. Verdict: Baby Boom.

Satish Ram:

Solid if not unspectacular, Erik Goeddel has been consistent as a starter throughout his MiLB career. Personally, I always thought he would end up in the back end of a bullpen, but the recent success he has been having with his change-up actually caused me to double-take. The B-Mets staff have changed the grip on his change-up, as John Bernhardt mentions above, and this is allowing him to get through Double-A without much issue. Although he doesn’t have truly over-powering stuff, he has always owned a healthy strikeout rate (over 8.0 for his career) and has kept that consistent throughout his time in the Mets organization. I’m really sharing a brain with Matt above, however, because I still think he’ll end up in the bullpen. I do think a young man with a healthy K rate, low amount of HRs allowed, and three pitches that are at least average could have a really solid career coming out of the pen, however. Verdict: Boom