Seven years since the apex and five years into the stadium the fans have yet to experience anything close to prosperity, aside from Johan Santana’s no-hitter on June 1, 2012 and Matt Harvey’s All-Star Game start on July 16 of this year.
While not all teams are able to create a new identity immediately as the 2008 Rays did by changing their name, logo and uniform, it was realistic to expect a competitive team in the near future.
Fans have even lowered their expectations considerably during this time. No longer is the playoffs the only satisfying result, now simply fielding an “exciting .500 team” is worth it to the Citi faithful.
It appears, however, that good fortune is just around the corner.
With a rock-solid ace like Matt Harvey under control the team can build around strong starting pitching as the 2010 San Francisco Giants did. Harvey is 8-2, with a 2.23 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 137 innings. He has four games in which he has struck out 10 batters and not issued a walk. Truly dominant.
It doesn’t stop there either. Noah Syndergaard has put together a magnificent age-20 season between two levels of the minor leagues. He has compiled a 2.84 ERA with a 95/23 K/BB ratio. That type of command is not typical for someone three years removed from high school. It appears the 6’4″ Texas-native will bring his terrific fastball-slider combo to the majors next season.
He can slide between Harvey and Zack Wheeler, who entered 2013 as the most hyped prospect in the system but has yet to appear totally comfortable. It is not the end of the world. After all, Wheeler is only 23, and features a fastball that has averaged 94.6 MPH. He certainly needs to work on his command, but that will most likely improve after a short-season of working out the major league jitters.
Rafael Montero, Cory Mazzoni, Michael Fulmer and Jacob deGrom are a few other names that have received rave reviews from the scouts. Essentially, this is a team that has a bevy of impact arms on the horizon. That is not even counting 26-year-old veteran Jon Niese as well as recent standouts Jeremy Hefner and Dillon Gee.
As for the position players, much more remains uncertain.
A lot will hinge on the development of Travis d’Arnaud, Ike Davis and Ruben Tejeda. Entering the season, their respective positions appeared to be under controlled as long as they performed as expected. Of course, not everything goes as planned.
D’Arnaud has yet to appear in a major league game, Davis has been mired in a miserable season-long slump and Tejeda remains “rehabbing” in Triple-A. I use quotation marks because he was not activated once healthy, which means the front office is not convinced he is their starter. This could be addressed via free agency but the team is likely to give Josh Satin an opportunity as long as he continues to hit.
Fortunately, third base and second base is in good hands with David Wright and Daniel Murphy. Wright is having his best season aside from 2007, ranking third in the NL with 5.0 WAR. Murphy has been inconsistent with the bat but has a solid track record at this point.
The outfield was the biggest concern entering the season, but the emergence of Marlon Byrd, Juan Lagares and Eric Young Jr. has stabilized that. With the looming return of Lucas Duda and minor league players such as Cesar Puello and Corey Vaughn, they are in better shape than expected.
I expect them to sign Shin Soo Choo in the offseason to have a young, solid player with high upside and results on the roster.
The rest of this season isn’t about making a run. It’s about being optimistic for 2014 because the most productive players on the roster will be playing pivotal roles next season. It’s the first time in a long time we can say that,
