Travis d’Arnaud. Luis Guillorme. Jarred Kelenic. All three are former Mets on the Atlanta Braves active roster. There are few things guaranteed in the universe, but one of them is excellent performance by former Mets, currently with the Braves, playing against the Mets.
The Mets are hoping they have the reverse scenario with Danny Young.
Danny Young had a long trip to the major leagues after getting drafted by the Blue Jays in 2015. He was selected by Cleveland in the 2019 rule V draft. In 2022 he signed as a free agent with the Mariners where he finally got his break. In the middle of the 2022 season the Braves selected him off waivers and this past off-season he signed with the Mets.
Danny Young had a solid, short stint with the Braves last year. Over eight games he pitched 8 1/3 innings allowing one run from seven hits and two walks while striking out 11 batters. He was hit fairly hard in triple AAA last year, allowing 22 hits and 11 earned runs over 15 2/3 innings, but still recording 18 strikeouts. A hip injury that led to surgery knocked him out for most of the season.
Young threw only two types of pitches last year in the majors. He used his upper-80’s fastball 55% of the time and mixed-in his upper-70’s slider for the other 45%. In 2022 he also threw a low-80’s changeup, but it was rare, making up only 2% of his overall pitches. Young’s arsenal a continuation of the overall vision that David Stearns has for the bullpen this year. He’s the first player in this series that throws a much slower fastball and has the slowest slider out of the group as well. He’s definitely a different look.
You know what else is always true, besides former Mets on the Braves crushing the Mets? The Mets need for left-handed relievers. Before signing Diekman to a major league deal the Mets left-handed depth list was looking real short. Danny Young adds to that depth.
This spring we’ll be looking for two things from Young. First, does he keep the ball on the ground, which was his calling card throughout his career. Second, can he limit the hits allowed. If he can do both of things, and if he’s healthy, he can be a nice surprise for the Mets bullpen this year.
