Kodai Senga took live batting practice Monday afternoon and then said he plans to return by May 27, when he will be removed from the 60-day disabled list.
The Mets lost their most famous starting pitcher, but they have survived without him. Still, it will be at least four weeks before Chiga will be able to pitch for the team, and the distress signals in the form of brief appearances by starting pitchers (propagated primarily by walks) are enough to get him here. It makes me wonder if they have a pitcher. The Mets will start Chiga, who is still in decent condition, for the first time.
Jose Quintana and Luis Severino have been gems for the Mets over the past two days, including Monday when they pitched a no-hitter into the eighth inning of the team’s 3-1 loss to the Cubs. However, it’s been a tough April overall for the Mets’ starting pitchers, and they have their bullpen to thank.
We suggest that rotation allows you to use your energy in bursts now instead of waiting and hoping for the best. Christian Scott could provide that energy.
Scott, the organization’s top pitching prospect, could have been ready to join this rotation at the start of the season. But the team’s upper echelons like the option of established depth and want the 24-year-old Scott to at least get a taste of what Triple-A can offer before considering a move to the major leagues. I thought.
Scott started five games for Syracuse, striking out 36 batters in 25 1/3 innings. He has pitched to a 3.20 ERA, with the majority of that coming from his seven home runs allowed.
“I think Christian has done everything we expected and expected him to do,” President of Baseball Operations David Stearns said before the Mets opened their fourth straight game against the Cubs at Citi Field. he said. “He continues to throw the ball very well. I think you have to strike this balance when you ask when a prospect is ready and when there is a major league need. A lot of times. , they need to overlap or intersect, and for some people out there, they’re probably just waiting for that intersection to happen.”
The Mets employed a six-man rotation for much of last season to benefit Chiga, and will likely go down that path again for the Japanese right-hander. Team officials have also discussed the possibility of implementing a six-man rotation during games during this period, with the Mets only scheduled to have one off day through May 23.
It could be a perfect storm for Scott, as he needs a few minutes to prove himself before the team has to decide where to put rehabbing Tyler Megill and David Peterson. He will be given a chance to start the innings. Both players are more advanced in their rehabilitation than Chiga, but Peterson, a pitcher on the 60-day IL, won’t be able to return until May 27th.
The albatross of the rotation was Adrian Hauser, who posted an 8.37 ERA in five starts. Elevating Scott along with other rehabbing players essentially forces Hauser to realize that he doesn’t have much longevity in the rotation. But at the rate the team is adding pitchers, it’s not impossible to conclude that Hauser will be shut out. Still, he needs to show something soon.
With a 98 mph fastball as a major weapon, Scott’s combination of poise and resourcefulness impressed team officials and teammates alike.
“I only got him once in spring training and that was enough because that guy is terrible,” Tomas Nido said. “He’s legit. I think that’s his world, and I think a lot of people are too.”
Nido was in Syracuse to start the season and never got a chance to start Scott. But Nido observed the right-hander enough to realize that he had special qualities.
“He would bounce back from a bad inning or a bad pitch, and that was really impressive to me,” Nido said. “Actually, I told him that too, and I think that’s what everyone is talking about: his ability to come back and be lights out for the rest of the game.”
The Mets have been waiting almost a decade for the next big thing to come out of their farm system to strengthen their rotation. No one would ask Scott to come in and automatically become an ace, but there’s enough of a big-caliber arm to revitalize the rotation, at least until Chiga returns, and ideally well beyond that. It’s meaningful.
It’s better to do it now, when your team is playing at a respectable level, than to wait until things are hopeless.
