It would have been very easy to name Jacob deGrom as the Met of the Month for a third straight month, but a few things worked against that. The first is that the Mets didn’t support deGrom at all, causing him to finish July with an 0-2 record despite a 1.74 ERA in three starts. It would also be a bit boring to keep giving the award to deGrom, who everyone knows is the Mets’ best player, month after month when there are a few worthy candidates to consider. With that in mind, the Met of the Month for July 2018 goes to the man in the starting rotation pitching better than anyone but deGrom, Zack Wheeler.
Wheeler made five starts for the Mets in July and was tremendous, going 3-0 with a 3.13 ERA in the process. The strong performance made Wheeler a trade candidate, but the Mets believed strongly that he had turned the corner, so they opted to hold him without any overwhelming offers on the table. Wheeler’s newfound ability to throw first pitch strikes and use his slider as an out pitch have helped him dominate big league hitters as he recorded 30 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched in July. If the Mets have any hope of contending in 2019, Wheeler will need to carry this type of performance into next season.
Previous Mets Of The Month:
April: 2B Asdrubal Cabrera
May: SP Jacob deGrom
June: SP Jacob deGrom
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