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More Than O-Kay

By John Sheridan

April 16, 2018 No comments

Kay/Photo by Ed Delany

Fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, 2016 Mets first round draft pick (31st overall) Anthony Kay is finally getting his opportunity to show everyone why the Mets drafted him not just once, but twice. More than that, he is showing everyone just how good a pitcher he truly is.

Yesterday, when Kay stepped off the rubber, he had pitched into the seventh inning. That’s impressive not only when you consider where has come from, but also because only one Mets pitcher has pitched into the seventh inning this season (Zack Wheeler).  After back-to-back hits to start the inning and an economical 89 pitches, Kay would be lifted for a reliever.

While going deep into the game was newsworthy, it was what he did in his first six inning which were the headline.

During those six innings, Kay had his fastball around the mid 90s with him maxing out at 96 MPH.  Of the 81 pitches he had thrown to that point, 54 of them went for strikes. With stuff like that and his pounding the strike zone, the Asheville Tourists (Rockies) struck out five times and were only able to muster one earned run on one walk and two hits.

When Kay stepped off the mound with two runners on with a 3-1 lead, he was in line for the win, and with arguably the Fireflies best reliever, Joshua Payne, coming into the game, it seemed as if Kay would be getting his first ever win as a professional pitcher.

Unfortunately, Payne and the rest of the Fireflies bullpen struggled costing not just Kay, but the Fireflies roster the win.

While the outing ended roughly nothing should detract from the fact Kay was absolutely dominant against an Asheville team featuring Ryan Vilade (MLB Pipeline No. 7), Chad Spanberger (MLB Pipeline No. 29), and Bret Boswell (MLB Pipeline No. 30).

Overall, Kay not only pitched well, but he Had a strong outing against some truly talented prospects in the Fireflies 7-6 win. That is a truly encouraging sign for him going forward.