Syndergaard Streaking for Mets’ Double-A Affiliate

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

When the Mets traded away knuckleballer and Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey to the Blue Jays last offseason, the deal mainly centered around Toronto’s prized catching prospect, Travis d’Arnaud. D’Arnaud, who is making his major league debut tonight against the Padres, has been regarded as one of baseball’s top catching prospects since he was drafted 37^th overall by the Phillies in 2007. Despite a few injuries in the past three seasons, he was named the sport’s sixth best prospect by MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo.

While d’Arnaud will likely become a mainstay in the Mets’ lineup for years to come, the “other” prospect the Mets received from the Jays, one Noah Syndergaard, can often be overlooked because of the attention d’Arnaud receives. Syndergaard, drafted 38^th overall in 2010 by Toronto, is an imposing 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, and throws a fastball that sits between 93-97 miles per hour with two above average off-speed pitches, a curveball and changeup. He is built similarly to Matt Harvey, (6’4”, 225 lbs.) meaning he will be able to handle large workloads as his career progresses. Furthermore, his command has been phenomenal this season. Splitting time between Single-A St. Luice and Double-A Binghamton, Syndergaard has complied a strikeout rate of 10.0 K’s per nine innings, and walks merely 2.0 per nine innings. Syndergaard has gotten even better after his promotion to Double-A, largely considered the most difficult jump in the minors.

Syndergaard, or “Thor” as some of his teammates refer to him (he’s huge and blonde), has also been white-hot on the mound recently. Even though the Mets are trying to limit his innings as the Double-A season draws to a close, Syndergaard has posted some unbelievable numbers over his last four starts. His line: 21 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, and get this, only two walks with 26 strikeouts! It’s a shame that the Binghamton Mets won’t have this stud throwing for them in the Eastern League playoffs – their magic number to clinch a playoff berth sits at two.

Mets fans have much to look forward to in the near future. A rotation headed by the trio of Harvey, Zack Wheeler, and Syndergaard makes every Mets’ fan mouth water at the possibilities. If all three pitchers can stay healthy, the Mets will be a dominant force in the years to come.

Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow@Gradingthecurve on Twitter and and Like Grading On The Curve’s Facebook page to keep up with the latest prospect news, rumors, and opinion.