Thomas Szapucki, Photo By Ernest Dove
On Monday, Thomas Szapucki had his best start of the season picking up a win while striking out nine over five innings. On the strength of that performance, he was named as one of MLB Pipeline‘s top performers.
As noted by MLB Pipeline, this was Szapucki’s first win since June 10, 2017. Also notable is this being the deepest Szapucki has gone in a game since his return from Tommy John surgery. Overall, MLB Pipeline would note:
Now fully healthy, the 23-year-old southpaw is showing that he can still miss plenty of bats with his fastball-curveball combo, as Monday’s outing gives him 45 strikeouts in 35 innings on the season to go along with a 2.06 ERA.
These are all positive signs Szapucki is back on his way to being the pitcher who was named on multiple Top 100 prospect rankings. More than that, Szapucki has continued to build up his arm strength. As a result, he’s been able to throw more pitches and go deeper into games. He’s also been able to rack up the strikeouts.
Like Szpaucki, Simeon Woods Richardson was named by MLB Pipeline as being a top performer for his start. With respect to Woods Richardson throwing five scoreless innings, MLB Pipleline had this to say about the 18 year old hurler:
Another start, another strong performance from Woods-Richardson, who has yielded two earned runs or fewer in nine straight outings. The 18-year-old, a second-round pick from last year’s Draft, has a 4.25 ERA this season, but take out the month of May (10.89 ERA over six starts) and the numbers look a lot better. The right-hander has the most upside of any pitcher in the Mets’ system, but he’s thrown just 95 innings as a professional, so he still has a ways to go before fulfilling all that potential.
While Woods Richardson has not yet appeared on top 100 prospect rankings, if he continues progressing the way he has, we may very well see him appear on those lists in the future. Overall, with him we are seeing a young starter get stronger as the year progresses, and he has an incredible 5.71 K/BB which is the best among all Mets pitching prospects. Again, it is important to note he is a teenager playing for a full season affiliate, and he is 3.8 years younger than the competition.
Overall, Szapucki and Woods Richardson are building their workloads as the season has progressed. They are both throwing more pitches, and they are going deeper into games. More than that, they are racking up the strikeouts, and they are showing how they are better than the competition. With the way they have been pitching recently, the Mets future looks very bright.
