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By Tom McFeeley, AriBall.com

Will Syndergaard Fare Any Better?

Noah Syndergaard is the youngest, but perhaps the most promising, of the Mets young staff. At age 22, he’s four years younger than Jacob deGrom and Matt Harvey, but his rookie season was just as good as the seasons his elders put together this year.

As he demonstrated in his postseason starts, he can light up a radar gun. But, if deGrom and Harvey both struggled against the Royals, is there any indication Syndergaard will fare any better against the AL World Series representatives.

Well, as we said the other day, the Mets young aces are not like the Goldilocks choice of the Three Bears – they are very much the same type of pitchers. Syndergaard does throw harder, has nice curveball, and carries a cool demeanor.

But let’s take a look at the Royals lineup versus flamethrowers, specifically fastballs 93 mph and above:

Player	BA vs. 93+ FB
Escobar	.351
Zobrist	.275
Cain	.391
Hosmer	.370
Morales	.358
Moustakas	.284
Perez	.234
Gordon	.242
Rios	.355

Well, that explains why Harvey threw fewer fastballs than normal in his Game 1 start. Unfortunately for Harvey, the velocity, break and effectiveness of all his pitches were subpar. But the Royals’ approach seemed to take him off his game. deGrom, of course, struggled as well.

Syndergaard, it should be noted, pitched to a .225 batting average to hitters overall (.239 on his fastball). So, it seems, Syndergaard should rely less on his fastball than other pitches.

Let’s take a look at how often he threw each pitch:

Pitch	Percentage Thrown
Fastball	39.2
Sinker	23.4
Slider	2.0
Curveball	23.3
Changeup	11.6

So he mixes his pitches, more than deGrom or Harvey, so he might actually have a better chance at keeping the Royals’ hitters off-balance.

Though he’s arguably the Mets best pitcher in the postseason, the Mets chose to start him in Game 3, at home. That decision makes sense:

	Record	( ERA )	BA Against
Home	7-2	2.46	.196
Away	2-5	4.23	.258

Keep in mind, if the Mets can extend the series, Syndergaard would have to pitch a Game Seven on the road (though all hands will be on deck). Terry Collins has made the right calls most of the postseason, and giving an almost-always-important Game 3 and a potential Game 7 to a 22-year-old rookie might be risky, but he had time to make that decision, and it does show confidence in the rookie. Perhaps the mix of pitches Syndergaard offers will get the Mets in the win column and back in the World Series. Or the Royals will feast on his fastballs and be just one win from the crown.

By Tom McFeeley, AriBall.com

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