Major League Baseball

Mets Season in Review: Noah Syndergaard

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:30 p.m. ET

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When you take a 100+ MPH fastball, electric curveball, and throw some blonde hair on it, you have Thor. Let’s look at the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard

Coming into the 2015 season, we were all kind of upset when Syndergaard didn’t make the opening day roster straight out of spring training. We all knew we’d eventually see him, but was he ever worth the wait.

In 24 games started, he had a 3.24 ERA and struck out 166 batters through 150 innings. Electric isn’t even the word to describe Syndergaard’s stuff. “Absolutely filthy” would be a phrase to better describe it (go ahead and try saying it, you won’t be disappointed).

I sometimes still can’t believe Toronto traded a guy with that kind of potential. But what made fans fall in love with Syndergaard even more was his ability to not shy away from anyone.

The 2015 postseason showed fans just how different Syndergaard was from so many others. Throwing over Alcides Escobar to start off Game 3 of the 2015 World Series was exactly what this team needed. And coming out of the bullpen in Game 5 of the NLDS that same year against Los Angeles showed everybody that no matter what, Syndergaard wanted the ball.

The one thing the postseason did that year was catapult Syndergaard into the discussion of not if he could become the ace of the staff, but WHEN he would become the ace.

How He Fared in 2016

He made it the entire season, so that was obviously a plus for this team!

While everyone dropped like flies, Syndergaard and Bartolo Colon (go ahead and let the tears out, Mets fans) were the only two starters to be around for the entire season. We all knew Syndergaard’s stuff was bar-none, but we wanted to know if he could continue to be a dominant force for an entire season.

People forget that 2016 was Syndergaard’s first full season at the major league level. He didn’t disappoint at all, pitching to a 14-9 record through 31 games started. In 183.2 innings pitched, he struck out 218 people and had an ERA of 2.60. While the wins weren’t as high as people may have thought, having an earned run average not hit 3 is pretty impressive.

With hard throwers, they usually fatigue towards the end of the season. Add in a ridiculous curveball and slider hitting nearly 95 MPH, and you’d understand why someone’s arm might wear down. But not Noah Syndergaard, who even pitched through bone spurs. With all of the injuries, when the Mets needed him the most, Thor was there for them.

And he proved it in the 2016 NL Wild Card game, when he allowed only two hits and struck out 10 through 7 innings pitched (SF won 3-0).

Areas to Improve Upon

The biggest area Syndergaard could improve on for the 2017 season is holding baserunners. He allowed 48 stolen bases in 57 attempts (the most since Hideo Nomo allowed 52 stolen bases in 2001 with Boston).

Because of his big frame and long windup, it takes him longer to get the pitch to home plate. Add a below average defensive catcher to the mix in Travis d’Arnaud and you have a deadly combination for failure.

If the biggest concern with Syndergaard is keeping baserunners honest, you’d obviously take that. But it’s a cause for concern when pretty much anyone can run at will. We also saw towards the end of the year that it was a little more difficult for baserunners to run, but still pretty easy.

Another area I feel Syndergaard could improve upon are his walks. While 43 isn’t a huge number, it’s a bit much through 31 games started (compare that to Bartolo Colon’s 31 BB’s through 8 more innings last year). To correlate the two, the more baserunners you allow on by the walk, the more they’ll try to hit your reputation and attempt to run on you. If these areas could be controlled, the sky’s the limit for the success of Syndergaard.

Projected Role in 2017

In his first full season in the big leagues, Syndergaard already surpassed the 30 game started plateau. He has playoff and world series experience, as well as leading the rotation last year when pretty much everyone went down with injuries.

At only 24 years old, you have a case where Syndergaard could be the ace of this rotation for years to come.

Showing the fans and team last year the amount of heart and determination he has was something to celebrate. When he didn’t pitch up to his standards, he said it. This is a guy that will work on everything he needs to just so he could better himself for the future.

We already saw this offseason that while it’s a great honor to represent your country in a tournament, a World Series title is the ultimate goal. These guys won’t stop working until that dream becomes a reality.

Contract Status and Trade Rumors

Under contract for one year and $535,375, Syndergaard will become arbitration-eligible in 2018 when he’s 26 years old. He also will not become a free agent till 2022, which is great for the Mets.

Having these players perform at such high levels even before they hit their prime years is a great problem to have. You’d have to think the Mets and Syndergaard will attempt to work towards a contract extension in the future. Imagine what a talent like that would get you on the trade market.

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