Pelfrey Plays Stopper, Now and in the Future
By Howard Megdal ~ July 1st, 2009. Filed under: Howard Megdal.
It has been such a pleasure to watch Mike Pelfrey develop over the past two seasons, particularly since it seemed like such an unlikely occurance as recently as spring training, 2008.
Talking to him after he’d been crushed by the B-team of the Cardinals in late March, I remember seeing Pelfrey, always willing to talk to the media at length, seemingly at a loss. He couldn’t throw his secondary pitches, and hitters were crushing his fastball.
But to Pelfrey’s credit, he never stopped trying to figure it out. It’s come in fits and starts for him. Even this season, he entered Wednesday’s game with 29 walks, 37 strikeouts in 81 innings.
His effectiveness is as good as his secondary pitches; with them, he is unstoppable. Without them, he is in a one-pitch test of wills and location.
But on an afternoon like his work against the Brewers, the type of pitcher Mike Pelfrey can be reasserted itself. For Pelfrey, understanding when to throw his pitches, how to vary them, the mental skills necessary for big league success, are already present. This is normally the biggest battle a young pitcher faces, but Pelfrey has made it clear that when he has the weapons, he can deploy them properly.
So while the victory Pelfrey notched, out-dueling the devastating Yovani Gallardo, was vital for a Mets team that needs to gobble up victories wherever possible until the offense returns from the disabled list, there was another element at work here. Mets fans got to see what Mike Pelfrey, an untouchable in the Johan Santana negotiations, is increasingly providing on a more regular basis. Mets fans got to see what Mike Pelfrey could someday be every fifth day.
Each win right now makes the immediate future a little brighter. Today’s win allowed Mets fans to see beyond the 2009 horizon.
