José Quintana is offering hope for the Mets in 2024

Plus, Mets avoided a Reds sweep thanks to Quintana and Daniel Vogelbach's big hit to put the game away

Linda Surovich

Sep 18, 2023

What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️

The Mets avoided the sweep with an 8-4 win over Cincinnati (box)
In his 300th career start, LHP José Quintana gave up just two runs in 6.2 innings.
- Quintana is just one of eleven active pitchers to reach 300 starts and is just one of three active southpaws to reach that milestone
- He recorded his eighth quality start which is tied for the fifth-most by a Met through their first 11 starts with the club (Elias)
Daniel Vogelbach hit a pinch-hit, bases-clearing double in the seventh to put the game away. He is batting .545 with 16 RBI this season with the bases loaded
The Baby Mets also had a big day - Francisco Alvarez went 1-for-5 with a double and 2 RBI, Ronny Mauricio went 2-for-5 with an RBI, and Mark Vientos went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a stolen base
- Mauricio has five multi-hit games in his first thirteen games which ties him for third most in Mets history
- Alvarez has now doubled in three straight games and has nine RBIs so far in September
Tim Locastro went 2-for-2 with a double and run scored. It was his second multi-hit game of the season
The Mets finished their homestand 4-3 and scored seven or more runs in four of their last six games at home, they improved to 33-12 when recording ten or more hits in one game, they have 35 comeback wins, finished 13-19 against the NL Central, are 48-19 when scoring 5 or more runs, and are 27-32 since the All-Star Game
Bartolo Colón officially retired as a Met in a ceremony at Citi Field on Sunday, saying “this was the fan base that accepted me the most.”
Colón revealed that former teammate Noah Syndergaard was the one who first gave him the nickname “Big Sexy”

Prospect Watch 🔎

2B Jeremiah Jackson (No. 22 prospect, Double-A): 3-for-4, 2B, RBI
P Blade Tidwell (No. 10 prospect, Double-A): 0.1 IP, 2 R, 2 BB, K

Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (69-80) vs. Marlins (78-72)

Where: loanDepot Park – Miami, FL

Starting pitchers: RHP José Butto (1-2, 3.46 ERA) vs. RHP Edward Cabrera (6-7, 4.52 ERA)

When: 6:40 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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The “what if’s” with José Quintana, who offers the Mets hope for next season ✍️

The 2023 season will forever be filled with “what ifs,” and José Quintana is another one to add to that column of the spreadsheet.

Thankfully, he is doing well after his health scare earlier in the season and his return to the mound has been nothing short of a success. He is 3-5 with a 3.02 ERA and has pitched five innings or more in each of his first eleven starts as a Met. In a year where the rest of the starters were having trouble giving the Mets length and consistency, Quintana has managed to do both ever since his Mets debut on July 20.

So far in September, he is 2-0 with a 2.41 ERA in 18.2 innings pitched. Since 2022, he is 4-1with a 1.34 ERA in nine September and October starts. If this season had gone differently, he could’ve be a pitcher the team could rely on in the middle of a playoff chase.

Alas, that is not what happened. What if, what could’ve been, perhaps what should’ve been.

Hopefully he is giving the team a glimpse of what the future holds.

He will be 35-years-old when the 2024 season begins, but so far he has proven he can slot in nicely behind Kodai Senga as a middle-of-the rotation option. For his career, he owns a 3.72 ERA with batters hitting just .257 against him. He has always done a phenomenal job keeping the ball in the ballpark with a lifetime 0.89 HR/9 rate, although he did allow a homer yesterday.

He’s also fun to watch, isn’t he? He separates himself from what is considered to be the modern pitcher, ie the big fastball, power slider combination and is one of those old fashioned, vintage, crafty left-handed pitchers who throws strikes and keeps hitters off-balanced with slow, slower and the slowest. It can help keep the arm mileage low for Quintana too and help keep him effective for longer as a result.

Baseball needs more of these kinds of artists.

Both Quintana and Senga are rotation locks for 2024 and are a great place to start in building a rotation. Now it is up to GM Billy Eppler and new President of Baseball Operations David Stearns to build around them so 2024 doesn’t become a repeat of 2023.

Around the League 🚩

With their 5-4 win over Tampa, the Orioles clinched a playoff spot.
With the Rangers loss to the Guardians, the Rays also clinched a playoff spot
The Blue Jays walked-off the Red Sox to complete the sweep and move into the second Wild Card spot
The Diamondbacks took down the Cubs to pass Chicago in the NL Wild Card race
Former Phillies manager Charlie Manuel is reportedly improving after suffering a stroke on Saturday