LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Noah Syndergaard’s debut in a major league spring training game was still a few hours and 115 miles away as his pitching coach Dan Warthen pondered this broad question Monday morning:
What do you like about Syndergaard?
“Attention to detail. Composure. Desire to learn. The ability to apply.”
Standing in the home clubhouse in Port St. Lucie, Warthen described this as “the whole package.” Yet, absent was what usually comes first or — at the least — is included prominently when talking about one of the game’s best prospects. The repertoire. The high-90s fastball, the — as Terry Collins dubbed it — “hook from hell” curve.
“It’s obvious he has got the arm,” Warthen said. “But dozens of guys have the arm and not the other stuff. I’m excited because he has the other stuff and only turned 21 last August. He is only 21 and he doesn’t get afraid, you sense no intimidation whatsoever.”
In two shutout innings against the Braves, he showed both fastball heat and fast-track poise. Ryan Doumit, who had Atlanta’s only hit, a single off a 96 mph laser in the second to conclude a nine-pitch at-bat, said, “I didn’t know anything about the kid before today, but I’ll remember his name now.”
Doumit was impressed with how hard Syndergaard was throwing for early March, darting fastballs between 95-98 mph thanks to a mix of talent, adrenaline and something to prove. That he did it easy — limited stress — and with a compact arm swing and strong downhill plane from his 6-foot-6 frame plays up the menace for hitters.
Evan Gattis is known as a high-end fastball hitter and Syndergaard opened the second by throwing three pitches — 95, 96, 96 — to get three swings and misses.
Syndergaard also had that air of business about his work, a certain maturity. He never moved beyond a foot or two of the rubber, constantly up on it and ready during his 30-pitch effort. The stuff/right stuff combo moved one scout in attendance to gush: “Every team in the majors wants one of those!”
But before I contribute to what already is Syndergaard-for-season-opening-roster fervor, a few tempered observations: Syndergaard could be Justin Verlander and the Mets are still not start his free agent/arbitration clock before June, probably not until July. And Syndergaard is not Verlander — not yet, anyway.
That “hook from hell” was not consistent against Atlanta. Perhaps it was that adrenaline of the first major league spring start. His changeup is still a work in progress. He will need both to thrive toward the top of a major league rotation and, to his credit, he acknowledged those pitches were not as crisp as they had been in a previous intrasquad game.
Also, while he did blow fastballs by most of Atlanta’s main lineup, this is the first week of March, so hitters’ timing for that type heat is not there yet. Plus, no Brave came to bat even a second time against Syndergaard to show if even a small book would matter in the mano-a-mano battle.
Another scout in attendance praised Syndergaard’s arm, but said right now he could be a two-pitch major league reliever (he must add that change) and, in that way, likened him to the Cardinals’ Kevin Siegrist.
In general, though, the perception of Syndergaard is far better than that. He is viewed as a top-15 prospect in the game. Maximizing R.A. Dickey at his peak for Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud was nothing less than a great trade by Sandy Alderson. Consider if the Mets wanted to package both now, they would do better than a late-30s knuckleballer. They probably could have David Price, for example.
And the Mets’ dream now — they hope not a Wilson/Isringhausen/Pulsipher dream — is Zack Wheeler will throw 200 quality innings in the majors, Syndergaard will do a scintillating 15-start major league coming attraction and that Matt Harvey will heal well from Tommy John surgery. There is that trio and Rafael Montero and Steve Matz (along with Syndergaard the talk of Mets camp) to give the Mets hope for a dynamic rotation — and soon.
As Doumit said, “that guy, Wheeler and Harvey, that is something to build your organization around.”
The Mets are doing just that. Syndergaard is a huge part of those plans because they believe he has “the whole package” — and an elite repertoire, too.