The New York Mets suffered some significant injuries in their rotation during the 2022 MLB season.
They lost Jacob DeGrom to pressure training in his right scapula during spring training and last week, co-star Max Scherzer also hit the injured list with a diagonal strain.
Both pitchers will be out of action until July.
Someone has to pick up the slack.
Fortunately for them, they have created and encouraged some amazing organizational pitching depth thinking about such situations.
With the exception of Degrom and Sherger, Chris Basit has moved on as a staff tacker, a role he became familiar with in his final years with Oakland Athletics.
Carlos Carasco, Taijuan Walker, Trevor Williams, Tyler Miguel and now David Peterson have also been a very strong supporting cast.
Each of these weapons knows what their job is, and they do it brilliantly.
The latest Mets starter to dominate the league
Peterson, the latest member of the rotation after Sherger’s injury, dominated the San Francisco Giants, one of the top teams in the National League, on Monday 2021.
“6 From the strong @ _David_Peterson Tonight, ”the SNY Mets tweeted with some of his statistics.
Stronger than 6 @ _David_Peterson 8 tonight pic.twitter.com/irAcnNX0DG
– SNY Mets (SNY_Mets) May 24, 2022
In six innings, he has allowed just three hits and two runs.
He walked one and knocked out six Giant Heaters.
With great outings, the left-handed ERA dropped to 2.16 with a 1.00 whip in 25 innings.
He’s got an extended chance in Sherzer’s absence, and could turn into a solid mid-rotation starter this season.
Part of Peterson’s success and the rest of the staff’s success is due to pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and his assistant.
They have a plan for each harler and that plan is paying off for most of them.
The Mets have a tough eight-game cushion in the NL East, thanks to their excellent pitching.