Mike’s Mets Player Review Series: Jacob deGrom

Now that the 2020 season is over for the New York Mets, we have been looking back at the year that was. After taking a more general view of the offense, pitching, and coaching staff, it’s time to take a deeper dive into the Mets’ players. This series will take a look at every player on the roster for the Mets at the end of the season from A (Pete Alonso) to Z (Daniel Zamora). The review will look at their season statistics, stories, and what role (if any) they will have next season. We continue the series today with a look at starting pitcher Jacob deGrom.

Player Review: Jacob deGrom

2020 Stats: 12 Starts, 68 Innings Pitched, 4-2 Won-Loss Record, 2.38 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 104:18 K:BB Ratio, 2.6 WAR

Story: Jacob deGrom entered 2020 looking to win his third straight Cy Young award and pitched like one for most of the season. The Mets were pleasantly surprised when deGrom added some velocity to his fastball, regularly throwing it around 100 miles per hour, which is something that hadn’t happened that often to this point in his career. It looked like the Mets’ inability to get deGrom wins would continue in the early going as some poor run support and bad bullpen performances cost him a few decisions. deGrom did get in a groove after a brief trip to the injured list, leading the National League with 104 strikeouts, but a pair of rough (by deGrom standards) outings at the end of the season pushed his ERA up from 1.67 to 2.38 by the end of the season.

Grade: A+

deGrom continued to pitch like the best pitcher in baseball and remained one of the best players on the Mets going forward.

Contract Status: Signed Through 2023 (Will Earn $36 million in 2021)

Odds of Returning: 100%

2021 Role: Ace

The Mets’ decision to extend deGrom prior to the 2019 season has paid big dividends. Without the extension, deGrom would have been a free agent this winter where he would have had a chance to top Gerrit Cole’s $324 million contract on the open market. deGrom does get a hefty raise to $36 million in 2021 which he has earned as the best pitcher in the game right now.

Check back tomorrow as our Player Review series continues with a look at relief pitcher Edwin Diaz!