Jason deGrom, Lightening in a Bottle

July 26, 2015

 I heard about Jason deGrom last year and his rising star status. He is a right-handed pitcher for the New York Mets, age 27, former Rookie of the Year (2014), and National League All-Star. He gained nationwide notoriety in this year's All-Star game when he struck out the side with ten pitches with pure smoke. He was throwing fastballs with movement that made the hitters look like non-All Stars.

After watching the All-star performance, I wanted to know more about this guy. If he is twenty-seven years old and has only played two years in the pros, he must have spent years in college or the minors developing his craft. The amazing part of his story he didn't start pitching until the fall of 2009, and that was as a relief pitcher. Up until then, he was a shortstop playing for Stetson College with a .263 batting average.

He was developing so fast that he soon became the closer for Stetson. He was moved into the starting rotation, where he picked up a curve and changeup to add to his barn burner fastball. It didn't take long for the major league talent scouts to see his upside when they saw him pitch against the great Chris Sale of the White Sox in a game against Florida Gulf Coast University. He pitched twelve games as a starter for Stetson that year and recorded a 4-5 win-loss record and a 4.48 ERA.

The Mets drafted him in the 9th round of the 2010 draft and signed him for $95,000. He pitched for the Kingston Mets in the Rookie-Level Appalachian League, making six starts. It was then discovered that he had a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow. After an unsuccessful attempt at rehabilitation, he had to proceed with a Tommy John surgery. This put him on the shelf for the entire 2011 season. During the downtime, he was able to work with Johan Santana on his changeup.

In 2012, he started with the Savannah Sand Gnats of the Class A league and later moved to the Class A advanced league and pitched for San Lucie. He was able to start 19 games and record an impressive 2.43 ERA. 2013 was a busy year for deGrom with rapid movement through the Met farm system. He started with San Lucie, then was promoted to the Birmingham Mets of Class AA, and finally ended up in the Class AAA with the Las Vegas 51's. Some of these promotions were due to injuries to others and the movement of other pitchers to the New York Mets.

The Mets were confident in deGrom and his rising status, so he was placed on the 40-man roster for the 2014 season. deGrom started the 2014 season in Las Vegas but got called up in May because of two injuries to the pitching staff. He made his first start on May 15th but didn't record his first win until July 8th, when he pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out eleven. He went on to become the National League pitcher of the month for July. He finished the year with a 9-6 record and 2.69 era, which earned him the National League Rookie of the Year honors. On September 15th, he struck out the first eight batters in a game against the Miami Marlins, tying the MLB record.

This year has been a year where deGrom is considered in the top tier of pitchers to watch. His pitches never come in straight or flat and have a tailing movement. In addition, the arm speed of deGrom creates so much deception that he is a hitter's nightmare. I find it so rare that player who begins pitching in his twenties and within three years is Rookie of the Year. He is a great athlete that could learn and absorb faster than the majority of baseball players. He appears to be a humble young man that will be a joy to watch for years to come.