Commanding His Role

How David Peterson can find success

Good Morning,

Yoenis Céspedes was back on our television screens and the Mets played a tie game on Tuesday. We haven’t entered the twilight zone; welcome to spring baseball in 2023!

As the World Baseball Classic kicks into gear, the Mets continued their Grapefruit League schedule against the Astros. I will catch you up on some key takeaways from that game, along with the latest from camp. But first, let’s talk about David Peterson.

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It didn’t take long for Mr. Peterson’s role to become heightened. After José Quintana suffered a small stress fracture in one of his ribs, the tall, left-hander will be immediately counted on for starting pitching depth.

“Those five guys making 30 starts each is highly unlikely,” Peterson said of the projected rotation. “At some point, something is going to happen and we saw that last year and you see it every year. I come in and do my work.”

What can we expect from Peterson this season? Can he build off a season in which he pitched to a 3.86 ERA over 19 spot starts? We have already seen a glimpse of what he can do in two Grapefruit outings before he injured his foot on a come-backer this past weekend. Luckily, the injury isn’t serious. He can continue to make his case for cracking the rotation in Quintana’s place over the next few weeks. What does he have to do to be successful?

😵‍💫 COMMAND ISSUES: To me, the issue with Peterson has always been his command. This was painfully obvious in his last appearance as a starter against the Cubs last September. From the first pitch he threw that night to Christoper Morel, it was clear he had no idea where his fastball would land. Notice where Nido sets up for this 1–1 pitch and where the ball ends up:

In a game the Mets needed against a terrible Cubs team, Peterson walked three batters and served up five runs before recording two outs to put his team in an insurmountable hole.

This is a microcosm of what keeps Peterson from taking that next leap as a starter. When he can’t command his fastball, he doesn’t have another pitch that he can consistently land for a strike. While his slider is best suited as a chase pitch, neither his changeup nor sinker can be relied on to earn a needed strike.

↪️ SPIN DOCTOR: The one pitch I didn’t include in the graphic above is the one that might offer the most promise this season, and that is his curveball. He upped his usage toward the end of last season, but still only threw it about 8% of the time. He likes to sneak it early in the count and has had some success landing it for a strike.