Nathan Lavender/Mike Mayer MMN
The New York Mets have promoted left-handed relief pitcher Nathan Lavender to Triple-A Syracuse. He will take the place of Zach Muckenhirn in the Syracuse bullpen with Muckenhirn being promoted to the majors.
Lavender, 23, was the Mets 14th round selection out of the University of Illinois in the 2021 draft. He has been very impressive since being drafted pitching to a 1.67 ERA with a 13.6 K/9 between the FCL, Florida State League (Low-A), South Atlantic League (High-A), and Eastern League (Double-A).
He made seven appearances for Double-A Binghamton this season pitching 10 1/3 innings. He has not recorded a decision yet while posting four saves, a 1.74 ERA, 0.774 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, and a 16.5 K/9.
Nathan Lavender quickly closes out the 5-4 win for the @RumblePoniesBB 1-2-3 in the 9th with 2 Ks. He now has 10 Ks in 6.1 innings this year. #Mets #LGM #MetsTwitter @ernestdove @MiLBMetsMadness pic.twitter.com/BCudc5oEvR
— Mets News and Links (@JohnFromAlbany) April 22, 2023
While left-handed, he is not just a left-handed specialist. So far this season, right-handed batters are only hitting .125/.160/.167 off of him. Lavender has actually pitched better against the right-handed batters with left-handed batters hitting .167/.353/.167 against him.
This is not entirely the result of a small sample size. Last season, right-handed batters had a .504 OPS against Lavender, and left-handed batters had a .647.
One of the reasons Lavender is so effective against right-handed and left-handed batters is his ability to generate swings and misses. So far this season, he has struck out 45.2% of the batters he has faced. At every level, Lavender has struck out at least 30.1% of the batters he has faced. Those are elite strikeout numbers.
Lavender is getting it done with movement and spin instead of velocity. Lavender has a fastball that hits the low 90s, and he has thrown it as high as 94 MPH.
His fastball has movement, and he is able to locate it well. He has a sound, compact, and repeatable delivery with a 3/4 arm angle and a low release height. As a result, the fastball appears faster than it actually is, and it sneaks up on a hitter.
He combines that with a high spin slider. It has been effective as a strike-out pitch against right-handed and left-handed batters. He also mixes in a change-up.
The three-pitch repertoire has been highly effective for Lavender. He has utilized it to post high strikeout rates and a low ERA. He has also used it to force his way to Triple-A less than two years after he was drafted.
