Jacob deGrom probably is the Mets leader in the rotation. The one pitcher who didn’t go down to injury last year, he crossed the 200 inning mark, put up another solid year despite a few starts had a fantastic year. The other pitchers on staff should lean on deGrom who came back from a season ending injury in 2016 for 2017.
While the Mets will go as far as the back half of their rotation, none of that will matter if Syndergaard and deGrom aren’t Syndergaard and deGrom. Here is what the computers think Jacob will do this year:
| Jacob deGrom | ||||||||
| Source | Innings | ERA | FIP | WHIP | K | BB | K/BB | K/9 |
| Baseball Prospectus | 174 | 3.39 | 1.16 | 192 | 9.931034 | |||
| ZiPS | 181.3 | 3.37 | 3.26 | 191 | 32 | 5.96875 | 9.481522 | |
| Steamer | 203 | 3.45 | 3.38 | 1.16 | 225 | 57 | 3.947368 | 9.975369 |
| ESPN | 201 | 3.31 | 1.16 | 223 | 54 | 4.12963 | 9.985075 | |
| MLB.com | 200 | 3.33 | 1.15 | 226 | 55 | 4.109091 | 10.17 | |
| Baseball Reference | 175 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 190 | 51 | 3.72549 | 9.771429 | |
| Average: | 189.05 | 3.391667 | 3.32 | 1.166 | 207.8333 | 49.8 | 4.376066 | 9.885738 |
| 2017 Stats: | 201.3 | 3.53 | 3.5 | 1.187 | 239 | 59 | 4.050847 | 10.68554 |
Overall, the projections see Jacob performing a level slightly better than his 2017 campaign posting a better ERA/FIP/WHIP.
If Syndergaard meets his 2.97 ERA projection and deGrom meets hits 3.39, the Mets will have a strong back bone to break up losing streaks, establish winning streaks, etc. Can a deGrom with less hair dominate? Syndergaard may be the mane attraction now but Jacob is the leader of this rotation.
