John Harper of the NY Daily News wrote an article on Tuesday where he states that Noah Syndergaard could follow the path of Matt Harvey to become the next Mets pitching phenom.
“Spend a day with Noah Syndergaard and you can’t help but come away thinking, above all else: he’s got a lot of Matt Harvey in him.”
As he works out in Texas, Noah Syndergaard shows a big arm, a tireless work ethic and a confidence that evokes comparisons to Matt Harvey, with hype building for 21-year-old heading into 2014.
Scouts are looking at Syndergaard’s big 6’6″ frame and 98 MPH fastball and drooling over the possibilities as they did when it was Zack Wheeler‘s turn as the top pitching prospect on the spot. But there is never any guarantee that a pitcher will reach greatness and stay clear of any injuries, and that was evident last season with Matt Harvey’s rise to fame then the elbow giving out that required surgery and will force him to miss all of 2014.
The hope is that Wheeler can avoid any set backs and maybe place himself as the next Mets Ace until Harvey makes a return and maybe Syndergaard, jumps onto the scene and is as dominant as advertised. That would be an amazing one-two punch.
It won’t be that easy though as one Mets official put it, “That last step to the big leagues is the hardest to predict. A lot of times the intangibles make all the difference.”
Syndergaard comes off as very level-headed, even humble, and he’s quick to say he needs to “make big strides’’ in the coming months, especially with his changeup, just to be worthy of a big-league call-up sometime in 2014.
When Syndergaard’s time does come, the Mets could use Syndergaard in relief to get him more innings in the big leagues, such as the Cardinals did with Michael Wacha, said Mets VP Paul DePodesta. In a report for ESPN New York, Adam Rubin says the Mets will cap him at 160 innings in 2014. The plans have all been laid and the rest is now up to Thor.
Spring training is less than a month away and 2014 can be a special season, if all the pieces to the puzzle fall into place. LGM!
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
This kid is going to surprise EVERYONE in spring training! He will make it very hard for the Mets to send him to Las Vegas. Fun stuff coming from him………..
It’s hard to bet against the Mets pitching rotation 3 years from now. I just hope there is enough strength there to keep 4 solid starters and trade enough of the others to create an adequate offense.