Depending on the health of the Mets 2012 rotation, Jeremy Hefner could be a name you hear a lot of. Hefner, who will be 26, was claimed by the Mets this offseason, and his history of Major League squads tells an interesting story about the Mets:
- Drafted by the Mets, round 46, 2004
- Drafted by the Mets, round 48, 2005
- Drafted by the Padres, round 5, 2007
- Claimed by the Pirates, November 2011
- DFA’d by the Pirates, December 2011
- Claimed by the Mets, December 2011
Basically, the Mets really wanted him back in the day, and after college, the Padres got him. Before last season, he was actually considered to be the 15th best prospect for the Padres, and now he is finally united with the Mets. According to MLB Trade Rumors, his stuff suits him to be a back of rotation type pitcher. His numbers over the past few seasons:
2011: 9-7, 4.58 ERA, 157.1 IP, 6.9 K/9, 3.5 BB/9
2010: 11-8, 2.95 ERA, 167.2 IP, 6.2 K/9, 2.9 BB/9
2010: 11-8, 2.95 ERA, 167.2 IP, 6.2 K/9, 2.9 BB/9
Hefner had a good to great first few seasons in the minors. His stock fell last season though as his ERA jumped, which is probably related to the increase in his walks per 9 innings. In the last 3 seasons he has pitched well over 150 innings, and 4 seasons if you dropped that number do 140 innings. The Mets won’t be striving for a star out of the minors this year as they feel they have that in their younger pitchers, but they are hoping to find some pitchers in the system that could eat up innings and provide stability in the rotation long term if the Mets need a fill in.
