(MMN/Jacob Resnick

After a year that saw Robert Gsellman post the highest WAR a starting pitcher has posted in the last 10 years with less than 50 innings pitched, Baseball America has slated him as the ninth best rookie going into the 2017 season.

The top five players on the list are Boston Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi leading the way followed by Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson, San Diego Padres outfielder Manuel Margot, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Josh Bell and Chicago White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada.

Last year, Gsellman pitched in eight games making seven starts, and he was much better than anyone could have expected.  Part of that was because he started the year in Binghamton, and he worked his way to the major leagues. Another part of that was Gsellman found another gear on his fastball.

With the extra gear on his fastball, Gsellman finished the year 4-2 with a 2.42 ERA, 1.276 WHIP, and an 8.5 K/9 during his 44.2 big league innings.

With that, and the uncertainty related to how many innings Zack Wheeler can pitch in 2017, Gsellman is most likely going to be the fifth starter next year.  If he does get that chance, there should be every belief that Gsellman can succeed next year.

Based upon what we saw of Gsellman in 2016 there is every possible reason to believe he has a great rookie year ahead of him.  If so, Gsellman will almost certainly be a contender for Rookie of the Year. More importantly, he will be a big reason why the Mets can return to the postseason.