Mike Pelfrey and Dillon Gee in Spring Training
Over the weekend, Santana, Dickey, and Niese pitched excellent against the Atlanta Braves. Over the next two days, both Dillon Gee and Mike Pelfrey are scheduled to make their 2012 season debuts.
Seeing that AAA Buffalo currently has four right-handed pitchers in the fold waiting for a chance, it is essential that both Mike Pelfrey and Dillon Gee have some quality outings in their first couple starts for the sake of their own job security.
Pelfrey has had an up and down career with the Mets to say the least. In 2010, he finally looked like he was becoming the front of the rotation workhorse a former top ten pick should become. Then, Pelfrey regressed last year, posting a 4.74 ERA and a losing record.
The alarming part is Pelfrey’s strikeout rate and walk rate remained the same, so it appears that the league has caught on to his split finger and hit it hard last year.
What is even more alarming is that Pelfrey’s velocity is not where is used to be. In my opinion, for Mike to be successful he needs to be consistently hitting around 92-94 mph with his four seam fastball.
Overall I think some of Pelfrey’s problems on the mound are mental, and I think there is a chance he could return to 2010 form, but it is not likely. Mike Pelfrey was considered a candidate to be released from the organization in spring.
Dillon Gee started in 27 games last year for the Mets. His first half was excellent.
In fact, Gee began the year 7-0 with a 2.86 ERA. As the season moved on, Gee began to lose his control and hitters around the league caught on to his change-up. Gee ended up posting a 4.43 ERA with a 13-6 record.
While Gee struggled, I think he deserves a little more of a pass than Pelfrey does, due to the fact that he is a younger pitcher. It is not uncommon for young starting pitchers to run out of gas in the dog days of summer. For example, it happened to Jonathan Niese a season ago. I believe Dillon Gee has enough pitches to be able to be a successful back-end starter for the Mets this season.
While Pelfrey and Gee are penciled in on the roster as the fourth and fifth starters, Matt Harvey, Jeremy Hefner and Jeurys Familia are all in AAA, waiting for their chance.
If Pelfrey and Gee want to keep their rotation spots, it is vital they get off to a fast start to prove to management that they belong there.
Overall, I think that both Gee and Pelfrey will be on a short leash this season, especially if Santana, Dickey and Niese are pitching well and Harvey, Familia and Hefner hold their own at the AAA level.
