Mother Nature dramatically throws a wrench in the Mets final week, and one last look at David Peterson in 2023

What does David Peterson's role on the 2024 Mets look like?

Justin Mears

Sep 29, 2023

The Mets and Marlins game was suspended due to rain in the 9th inning on Thursday with the Mets trailing 2-1 with two outs in the top of the ninth, and will potentially have to be completed on Monday (Box)
David Peterson wrapped up his 2023 season with his best outing of the year, firing seven scoreless innings against a team fighting for their playoff lives
Grant Hartwig contributed a scoreless 8th before he and Anthony Kay combined to let the lead get away in the 9th
Rafael Ortega replaced Brandon Nimmo in center field and later delivered a go-ahead RBI hit in the bottom of the 8th
Francisco Lindor swiped his 31st base of the season

Injury Updates 🏥

OF Brandon Nimmo left Thursday night’s game after attempting to make a diving catch in center field

Roster Moves 🗞️

IF/OF Jeff McNeil placed on the IL with a tear in the UCL of his left elbow - he is not expected to require surgery
IF Danny Mendick recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
RHP Denyi Reyes recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
LHP Joey Lucchesi optioned to Triple-A Syracuse

Today’s Game 🗓

Match-up: Mets (72-86) vs. Phillies (89-70)

Where: Citi Field - Flushing, New York

Starting pitchers: RHP Tylor Megill (8-8, 4.92 ERA) vs. RHP Taijuan Walker (15-5, 4.35 ERA)

When: 7:10 PM EDT

Where to Watch: SNY

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Can David Peterson become a consistent enough big-league starter? ✍️

The Mets made University of Oregon left-hander David Peterson the 20th overall pick in the 2017 draft with an eye towards the big 6’6 hurler becoming a staple in their rotation for years to come.

Six years later, the jury is still out on that vision.

Peterson debuted in 2020 with an impressive 10 game showing during the pandemic shortened campaign. In 49.2 innings as a rookie, he put up a strong 3.44 ERA and held opponents to an excellent .202 batting average, while earning the first six wins of his career.

He failed to build on that success as a sophomore, however, bouncing back and forth between the big-leagues and Triple-A while also making multiple trips to the IL in 2021. In the 15 outings he did make for the Mets he struggled, working to a 5.44 ERA and serving up 11 home runs in 66.2 innings.

Peterson’s stock was clearly on the downslide heading into spring training in 2022, but he was able to flip the script for the most part. In 28 games last season (19 starts), he fired 105.2 innings and put up a 3.83 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP and .236 batting average against. Those numbers should likely have earned him a back of the rotation slot heading into 2023—and they would have—had the Mets not gone out and reshaped their rotation with the winter additions of Kodai Senga, Justin Verlander, and Jose Quintana.

Of course, given the nature of baseball, injuries happen, and Peterson has gotten plenty of opportunities to pitch in the Majors again here in 2023—albeit to dramatically mixed results.

Peterson finished his season with an ugly 5.03 ERA across 27 outings that spanned a career high 111 innings. Opponents hit a gaudy .287 against him and his 1.57 WHIP was simply not good enough.

While those numbers don’t paint a pretty picture, they also don’t give us the whole story. When Peterson has been bad this season he’s been bad, bad. But he’s also delivered some really good outings as well.

The 28-year-old has contributed three starts of at least six innings with one of fewer runs allowed, and he’s never been better than he was last night. Against a Marlins team that has to treat every inning like game seven of the World Series in their effort to squeak into the final Wild Card spot, Peterson dominated them across seven innings, scattering only four hits and not allowing a single run.

Heading into the offseason the Mets cannot simply give him a rotation spot by default, but Peterson has demonstrated enough talent to at minimum warrant the opportunity to compete for the club’s 5th starter job down in Port St. Lucie.

Around the League 🚩

Both the Cubs and Diamondbacks lost on Thursday—which is good news for Miami and Cincinnati in the fight to the finish for NL Wild Card spots
Former Met Chris Bassitt earned his 16th win of the season in Toronto’s 6-0 blanking of the Yankees
The Orioles clinched the American League East with a 2-0 victory over Boston
Detroit scored a touchdown in the 7th inning of their game with the Royals, and ultimately beat Kansas City 7-3
Trevor May earned his 21st save of the year in Oakland’s 2-1 win in Minnesota