The Mets gave a major league invite for a second straight season to P.J. Conlon, the pitcher out Ireland with a sense of humor:
You’re thinking of my change up…my fastball touches 20 mph sometimes. https://t.co/Jhk9Mkt4Bs
— PJ Conlon (@pjconlon29) February 17, 2018
Anyway, PJ turned heads in the 2016 season putting up ridiculous numbers. We previewed him last year where we concluded:
I couldn’t read his profiles and not think of Tim Kurkjian’s new book I’m Fascinated By Sacrifice Flies where he spends time talking about the abundance of power throwing lefties in the league now. You used to have just a handful as recently as Billy Wagner’s time, but now they’re all over the league. This makes Conlon an old school style lefty pitcher. That being said, the local Belfast paper still posted a video of him hitting 90-mph as if it was something amazing. Which it is. As baseball fans in America, we have gotten used to the idea of 90-mph as practically slow in the minors when this is a human feat of strength to get that.
Our feelings about Conlon are the same as they were a year ago, even those his numbers returned to Earth this past season. Last year he posted a 3.38 ERA and a 1.235 WHIP. His career ERA is 2.35 and his career WHIP 1.075. As he goes farther through the farm system, not overpowering stuff catches up but he’s still getting hitters out and the Mets need lefties. He doesn’t project as the now typical Left Handed specialist throwing fire but with the Mets system the way that it is, and barring a minor league signing of another lefty, he will probably be knocking on the door to Queens at some point this season.
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