Nicknamed “Thor” after the comic book superhero, Noah Syndergaard has become a household name that will make you swear that the comic book superhero was named after him instead.
After a dazzling debut in 2015, this New York Mets ace has been hammering his way through to 2016. He dominated against the Kansas City Royals in his season debut and was even more unstoppable when playing against the Miami Marlins Tuesday.
But despite his effort and all the online MLB sports betting odds to their favor, they were thrashed 2-1. However, “Thor” managed to strike out 12 and only allowed one run on seven hits and one walk in seven innings.
While playing against the Kansas City Royals, Noah struck nine across six scoreless innings and only gave up only three hits and a walk. Sum up all that and what he did at Citi Field Tuesday against Miami and he’s now only permitted a single run on ten hits and two walks in 13 innings in the season. He has struck out 21.
It is quite obvious that these strikeouts do not come courtesy of unfair calls. Playing against the Royals, a team that rarely swings and misses, this 23-year-old earned sixteen swinging strike outs against the Marlins.
Going into last season, Noah was regarded as the most promising pitcher in the league, and he managed to prove it by the real hype he made on his arrival. It was during this time that he managed to post a 3.24 ERA and was able to strike out 166 with only 31 walks conceded in 150 innings. He offered more of this high-quality performance in October.
However, compared to what “Thor” is doing right now, all this seems like a mere warm-up. He is making the transformation to a pitcher with unparalleled abilities from a pitcher with potential.
In 2015, his fastball is what mostly stood out about him. This was witnessed when he managed to average 97.1 miles per hour with his heat. Syndergaard was the best among the qualified starters.
In the case of any doubers out there, his fastball was really that imposing. Also, thanks to his 6’6” frame, Noah’s fastball reached the home plate notably faster as compared to other last season’s starters. This was highlighted by Mike Petriello of MLB.com
But you know what is more appreciated than the hardest fastball in baseball? A harder fastball.
Are you familiar with Aroldis Chapman’s fastball? Now imagine that coming straight from the arms of a right-handed pitcher with the capability of maintaining it for about 100 pitches and what you basically have is Syndergaard.
However, while Noah’s changeup and fastballs are beautiful, his slider has been the grapevine in the town.
He only experimented with one the previous season but has since used it for a quarter of his pitches while playing against the Royals. He managed to throw 23 more while against the Marlins.
This is still not the best that Syndergaard can achieve with his slider. David Wright was awed by the 95 miles per hour throw that Syndergaard threw against Kendrys Morales.
Barely a year old in his major league career, it is too early to start wondering if Syndergaard is the best pitcher in baseball. Especially when the one and only Clayton Kershaw is still walking on this earth.
However, it is not an issue to state that there doesn’t exist any other starting pitcher like Syndergaard. Compared to what he can do to a radar gun and how well he hits his targets, he can do stuff with a baseball that no mortal can.
So, when “Thor” is on the mound, this two should happen: the Mets must be victorious, and everybody else should be watching.
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