Mets 5th Starter Jenrry Mejia has had a long road, full of twists and turns, to reach the Major Leagues and be in a starting rotation.
Whether it was needing Tommy John Surgery, having surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow, a comebacker hitting him in the arm, a bunion on his foot or a blister, Mejia hasn’t had it easy.
But, the one thing Mejia has never lacked in his years coming up in the Mets farm system was a nasty cutter.
The same cutter that some have had the guts to say resembles the one Mariano Rivera used to great success in his Hall of Fame career.
Last night while facing the defending National League Champion St. Louis Cardinals, Mejia was superb as he went 6.2 Innings giving up only 4 hits, 0 Runs, 0 Earned Runs, 3 walks and 7 strikeouts.
It was one pitch though in particular, to Cardinals First Baseman Matt Adams that had my jaw drop while watching the game last night.
This was as nasty a cutter I have seen thrown in a long time and one that even the great Mariano Rivera would have to find impressive
Wow, the movement of that pitch to hit the outside corner and freeze Matt Adam is a thing of beauty.
There have been some scouts who have said in the past that Mejia could be a close, ala Rivera, thanks to that pitch.
Considering that Mejia has a 1.99 ERA and really since last season has been phenomenal in the few starts that he has had since coming back from Tommy John Surgery, I think he should stay right where he is right now.
If Mejia continues to pitch on par with what he has shown so far along with the improvement of Zack Wheeler, the healthy return of Matt Harvey and the addition of Noah Syndergaard, the Mets rotation can be set for years to come.
The future is so bright for pitchers in the Mets system and you most certainly can add Jenrry Mejia to that list.
