If Jon Niese is soon going to transition into a long relief role in the bullpen or elsewhere altogether, he certainly isn’t going to without a fight.
On Tuesday night in Milwaukee, Niese did all he could do to secure a win for the Mets and end their five-game losing streak. He allowed just two runs in six innings while allowing eight hits and three walks, throwing 59 of his 99 pitches for strikes.
Unfortunately, the effort wasn’t enough thanks to a blacked out offense and a lazy and uninspiring defense behind him. The result was the Mets sixth loss in a row and Niese being winless since May 9 in Philadelphia.
Still, the outing shouldn’t go unnoticed for Niese. The Mets needed Niese to start pitching better after five very poor starts in May, and he has. He has at least shown to be a competent, mid-rotation starter for potential interested parties.
He has posted a 3.46 ERA while allowing ten walks and ten earned runs with 21 strikeouts in 26 innings over his last four starts.
Those figures could arguably be better with an improved defense behind him.
He has been able to successfully command the inside part of the plate with his cutter again, and is getting good sinking action on his two-seamer which is running away and down from the right-handed hitters. His curveball remains less effective, and that could be because he doesn’t have the same velocity he used to have on that pitch which is causing it to be more of a lollipop curve now. It could be a pitch he eventually cans, especially if his two-seamer and cutter remain effective.
His arm angle remains noticeably lower except when he attempts to throw a curve. That has made his pitches appear flatter which has decreased his deceptiveness, specifically against the left-handed hitters who are hitting him at a .289 clip this year or 28 points above his career average.
But the arm problems he has had could have taken their toll on him, and this just might be who he is now. People in the organization last year were particularly impressed with his ability to adjust and thrive last year despite his problems, and while 2015 hasn’t been an easy ride, he’s shown he can pitch effectively with runners on, induce weak contact on the ground and pitch to defense provided his pitches are below the belt.
The question is, how fine is the line for Niese in keeping the ball down at this point in his career?
Of course, that’s not necessarily effective with the current Mets infield, but his skills and tools could certainly be very valuable on a team which features a higher quality infield defense.
Just Mets 