Noah Syndergaard allowed two runs and two hits with two walks and two strikeouts in his Grapefruit League debut on Friday.
“I was very pleased with the result I got, with the exception of a couple of pitches in that second inning that I got out of my mechanics a little bit and started rushing toward home plate,” Syndergaard told reporters after his outing.
Syndergaard threw a perfect third inning, but stumbled in the fourth.
“He’s going to leave this camp knowing exactly what he’s got to do to get back here,” Terry Collins said after the game. “I’m going to challenge him to get back here fast.”
There’s no questioning Noah’s stuff. He was throwing in the mid to upper 90s with the fastball, and had hard and heavy breaking stuff when he threw it.
The consensus among Mets people I’ve talked to over the last year has been Syndergaard just wasn’t ready for the big leagues last year. Albeit it was a small sample, but that pitching maturity they’re looking for was lacking for Noah in his second inning of work. His tempo slowed down considerably, and it’s almost as if he forgot about his secondary pitches, something he showed in the lower levels of the minor leagues he could command in any count. In other words, he reverted to being a thrower and not a pitcher when he got in trouble.
Still, I am not concerned. Remember, he was six years younger than the average player in the Pacific Coast League last year. He’s got the stuff to be a dominating power pitcher in this league, and given his size and stuff, he has the ability to develop an intimidating mound presence as well. I think the quick emergences of Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Jacob deGrom have led us to grow unfairly spoiled and impatient with Noah to a degree. That’s not bad, as it’s not often young pitchers quickly find success in bulk. But we have to remember not every pitcher comes when forecasted, and some don’t come at all.
Noah is still so young, and everyone in the organization believes he’s going to be an excellent major league pitcher. He just might need a little more time to develop, and I’m willing to remain patient with that.
Just Mets 