The New York Mets organization built this up for a long time. The 1-2 punch. The Young Guns. Matt Harvey and Zach Wheeler. On Tuesday the two pitchers delivered in a big way, possibly allowing fans to peer into a very bright Mets future.
In the first game Matt Harvey went seven innings, allowing three runs and striking out 13. Wheeler pitched six shutout innings allowing four hits and seven strikeouts in later game.
Mets fans have grown accustomed to dominant performances from Harvey. So after game one of the day-night doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves there wasn’t much buzz. The buzz came before and after Wheeler’s start.
The Mets acquired Wheeler from the San Francisco Giants for Carlos Beltran in 2011. Ever since then Mets fans have been anticipating his arrival in the majors. Now, they have something to look forward to—and so do his the Mets players, according to ESPNNewYork.com.
"That's a formidable two arms that hopefully develop into a 1A and a 1B," Mets captain and third baseman David Wright said. "Obviously, just like every other Mets fan I was eager to kind of see what all the hype was about. It gives you a good glimpse of possibly what could be in the very near future. ... I'm a firm believer that as much as I'd like to try to go out there and score 20 runs a game, you see how necessary pitching is and you see how quickly good, young power arms can turn an organization around -- Washington, San Francisco. That's crucial for us to hit on some of these good, young power arms that we have. It seems like we have plenty of them. Zack is obviously at the head of that class."
Wheeler was seemed anxious in the beginning as he walked the first two batters.
"A little bit was nerves," Wheeler said and then immediately changed his mind. "It really wasn't nerves. I wasn't nervous. It was adrenaline, I think. Everything was just sped up a little bit mechanically. I just couldn't get comfortable and find a rhythm and release point. It was all over the place. I was around the strike zone, but it was still balls."
Harvey also commented on Wheeler’s start.
"You could tell that he came out and was a little bit excited. The ball was a little all over the place. But he settled in nice and went six innings,” said Harvey. “That's a really good hitting team. So obviously going out there six innings in your debut and not giving up any runs, that's a pretty impressive start."
If Wheeler, 22, and Harvey, 24, can start something and keep it up, the two could lead a dominant Mets pitching staff for as long as a decade. For all of the moves Sandy Alderson has taken a beaten for, this was a good one. These two young pitchers are a building block for the Mets future. (Oh, and the Mets have another arm in the minors in the form of Rafeal Montero who has a 2.40 ERA pitching for AAA Las Vegas.)
Alderson made another move yesterday, picking up outfielder Eric Young from the Colorado Rockies for pitcher Collin McHugh.
However, if Sandy Alderson is going to really solidify confidence in Mets fans—he needs to get some bats. The Mets currently have the lowest team batting average in the major leagues.
Wheeler went back to the minors to throw a bullpen session before his next start on Tuesday against the Chicago WhiteSox. Matt Harvey’s next start is set for Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies.
