PORT ST. LUCIE — Lots of names are being thrown around this spring with all the Mets’ strong, young arms in camp. Remember this one: Jeff Walters.
The right-handed reliever has personality and presence.
After being converted from a starter to a full-time closer, Walters has found a baseball home and could find a role in the Mets’ bullpen.
“I really want to see him this spring, he’s got a real chance to make this team,’’ manager Terry Collins said Sunday.
Noted pitching coach Dan Warthen: “He’s got stuff, makeup and a clean delivery.’’
Ex-Met Frank Viola, who will be the pitching coach at Triple-A Las Vegas this season, has been working with Walters and has been instrumental in his progress.
“His stuff was always there, it was just having the confidence to go out and show it,” Viola said.
Viola was with Walters in Brooklyn in 2011 and made the suggestion to put Walters in the bullpen.
Walters, 26, hasn’t looked back since. He managed 38 saves last year for Double-A Binghamton in 42 opportunities with a 2.09 ERA, striking out more than a batter per inning.
“He went from 89 to 91 [mph], all the way up to 97 sometimes,’’ Viola said. “Sometimes it’s just a mental thing. In the bullpen you just react and go. He thrives on the moment and he’s learning how to win. Development is great, but developing and winning, that brings so much more.’’
It’s refreshing to hear someone in development talk about winning.
“I think he is going to take off,’’ Viola said. “He’s no longer a sleeper.’’
At Olympia High School in Orlando, Walters was the shooting guard on the basketball team and quarterback on the football team, a three-sport athlete. The first thing you notice about Walters is his long flowing hair, much like Bronson Arroyo.
“You could say he’s my hair idol,’’ Walters said of Arroyo, who is now with the Diamondbacks.
“Baseball wasn’t my main focus in high school,’’ said the 6-foot-3 Walters. “I didn’t do the summer-ball thing.’’
His father is a jeweler and his mother works at Disney.
“Everyone needs a good jeweler,’’ Walters said with a smile. “I could get the girlfriend some jewelry for free and go to Disney for free. It was awesome.’’
Walters went to St. Petersburg Junior College for two years, then on to Georgia, where he graduated with a degree in consumer economics. In all, he was drafted by five teams, the Giants in 2006 out of high school and then the Nationals, Indians, Orioles and finally the Mets in 2010.
That’s the long way around.
“I started from the bottom and I was a starter up until two years ago,’’ Walters said. “Being drafted five times and I got a pretty good perspective on how that worked. School was pretty important to me. I knew I wanted to graduate so I went straight back to Georgia after my first short-season in pro ball.’’
It’s time to graduate to the majors.
Besides the fastball, Walters has an impressive sinker and slider.
“I’m developing a changeup,” Walters said. “I need that.”
Walters said his philosophy on the mound is simple: “Attack, attack, attack.”
“The one thing I’ve learned going from starter to reliever is that as a starter I was always thinking ahead of the game, saying things like, ‘OK, I’m going to want to throw this guy a slider here because what if I face them in the fourth inning with a runner on,’ now it’s just all or nothing,” he said. “They are getting everything I have from pitch one, putting the pressure on them early and it takes the pressure off me.
“I embraced the new role, it’s awesome,’’ he said of closing. “Our team was so good, we had a lot of save opportunities.’’
Noted J.P. Ricciardi, special assistant to general manager Sandy Alderson, “Walters is a good one, he’s taken to that role.’’
Now it’s time to take that personality and talent to the majors. Keep and eye on Jeff Walters this spring.