Just Mets

For the better part of a year, the belief was Noah Syndergaard could be the next phenom in the Mets pipeline to reach the big leagues.

Now, that’s not so clear.

As Syndergaard has struggled in his time at Triple-A, another phenom has begun to emerge as a possibility to reach the big leagues, potentially before Syndergaard.

His name is Steven Matz. He’s dazzled at every level of the Mets minor league system since getting himself on-track from Tommy John Surgery in 2010.

Matz, 23, didn’t get his professional career going until 2013. It took him nearly two years to find his way back to a pitching rubber after his operation, but he has not looked back since.

Matz has not posted an ERA above 2.70 since joining Single-A Savannah in 2013. He owns a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 3:1 over that same span. And, despite an unusual amount of walks early in 2015, he is finding success in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League in his first taste of Triple-A.

On Friday night, Matz was once again impressive as he did not allow a hit until there were two outs in the seventh inning against the Reno Aces in Reno. Former Met Nick Evans spoiled Matz’s no-hit bid, but he earned his second win of the season in his third start.

Matz is now 2-1 with a 2.01 ERA in four appearances and three starts for Triple-A Las Vegas in 2015. He’s allowed 13 hits, 12 walks while striking out 19 in 22 1/3 innings.

He needs about 60 innings to breach the 150 inning threshold the club prefers for it’s young starters to throw above Double-A before promoting him. That puts him on-track for a promotion at around the All-Star break if all continues to go well for the young left-hander.

It’s becoming fair to wonder if Matz will in fact get to the Mets before Syndergaard at this point. Syndergaard has struggled at Triple-A, whereas Matz has not to date. People within the organization have cited Syndergaard’s age in relation to the league he’s pitching in as a reason for his struggles, but they’ve also believed he simply hasn’t proven to be ready for the big leagues, which is a big reason he wasn’t promoted when rosters expanded last September.

This is a meritocracy in the end, regardless of stature or how highly touted a prospect is in the system. Everyone expects Syndergaard to eventually get here and live up to the hype and expectation which has followed him since he was acquired in December, 2012. But, Sandy Alderson said during Spring Training Syndergaard might not be the first guy up to fill a need in the rotation, and he has stayed true to his word.

Remember, it’s Rafael Montero making Tuesday’s start in Miami, not Syndergaard. Soon, it could be Matz, and not Syndergaard.