Star Prospect Matt Harvey to Start on Thursday

The Mets have announced that top pitching prospect Matt Harvey will be on the mound in Arizona on Thursday to begin the club’s three-game set against the D-backs. After losing Johan Santana to the 15-day disabled list, that left the Mets looking to fill a second spot in their starting rotation, having also lost Dillon Gee to injury.

40-year-old long reliever Miguel Batista started this past Saturday fairing rather awfully; he needed 81 pitches to get through 3 innings. The straw that broke the camel’s back, that start earned Batista a trip back down to the minor leagues, potentially his last.

Harvey’s call-up has been long awaited by Mets fans eager to see the highly-regarded youngster in action. Matt was drafted out of the University of North Carolina in the first round of the 2010 draft by the Mets, and has since been called one of the best pitching prospects in the game. Baseball America deemed him the #34 prospect in all of baseball this past midseason.

Harvey will take the hill on Thursday sporting his 98mph fastball and wicked breaking stuff. He will undoubtedly be under the watchful eye of many fans anxiously awaiting his future with the Mets.  

One-Game Summary of the Mets' Needs this Season

There have been a couple burning questions surrounding the New York Mets these past few weeks:

• 1.     Can the Mets stay in the playoff hunt/will they be “buyers” or “sellers” nearing the July 31^st trade deadline?
• 2.     If they do stay in the hunt and are “buyers” then what is the most important roster need for them to fill? 

Last night’s (July 17^th) game in Washington D.C. made one answer painstakingly clear, and left the other one painstakingly unclear.   

To begin with the first question, last night’s back-and-forth (and then back-and-forth some more) loss offered no discernable evidence suggesting the Mets can or cannot stay in the playoff hunt. Though they were not blown away by the opposition, the Mets still lacked answers for certain parts of Washington's game, ie their starting pitching and late-inning-rallies. 

The Mets’ hitting was nonexistent up until the ninth inning; the club managed just 6 scattered hits before their late rally. However once they did get going, the lineup and bench both showed some impressive resilience. Starter Jon Neise pitched beautifully, lasting 7 innings while allowing 1 run on 3 hits and striking out 8. Sadly, that will not be the story many remember after watching the bullpen blow 3 separate saves in heart-wrenching fashion. 

Obviously one bad night by the bullpen wouldn't be a huge problem. But one look at tonight's game will offer a similar glimpse at a reoccurring issue for the team; the relief pitching has consistently thrown away quality outings by the starting pitching. 

Of late, the 1st through 6th inning New York Mets and the 7th through 9th inning New York Mets have looked like two completely different teams. The 1st is consistently pitching well but not hitting, and the latter is rallying hits together while the pitching blows leads. The bottom line is that the Mets need bullpen help very badly and GM Sandy Alderson needs to get it. Reports from a week or two ago indicated that he was unhappy with the high prices necessary to obtain a relief pitcher and thus was looking into acquiring a catcher. However, Alderson, being one of the few (if not the only) MLB general managers with a Twitter account, had to deal with a massive rush of fans tweeting him about the need for bullpen help. Now, more recent reports have stated that he is back looking for a reliever.