Prior to the 2019 trade deadline, the Toronto Blue Jays traded Marcus Stroman to the New York Mets. For the season as a whole, he had a 3.22 ERA with a 3.72 FIP in 184.1 frames. He fanned 7.76 hitters per nine innings and had a 2.83 BB/9. His 53.7 GB% was among the highest for starting pitchers in MLB.
However, his line with the Blue Jays and his performance with the Mets had a few differences.
Mets’ Stroman vs. Jays’ Stroman
In the American League, he had a 6-11 record with a 2.96 ERA in 21 starts. He pitched 124.2 frames with 35 walks and 99 strikeouts. His WHIP was 1.23. That WHIP usually correlates more with ERAs in the 3.20-3.50 range, although it isn’t an exact science.
His groundball-heavy ways and the Mets’ suspect infield defense caused his final numbers to suffer somewhat.
In Queens, Stro had a 4-2 record with a 3.77 in 11 starts and 59.2 innings. He allowed 65 hits, walked 23 and punched out 60 hitters. His WHIP was 1.47 with the Mets.
As it often happens, the truth is somewhere in between. The most likely scenario is that Stroman isn’t a true-talent sub-3.00 ERA pitcher, at least not with a sub-8.00 K/9 and without a very good infield defense behind him. However, it is also true that he is way better than the 1.47-WHIP hurler he was in the second half with the Mets.
Marked improvements
In fact, we can divide his tenure with the Mets in two stages. In a seven-start span from August 3rd to September 7th, Stroman had a 5.05 ERA with a 4.87 FIP. His K/9 rose to 9.34, but he allowed 48 hits in 35.2 innings. He was bad.
However, in his last four starts, Stroman rebounded. He put up a 1.88 ERA with a 3.09 FIP and 8.63 K/9. He allowed 17 hits in 24 frames.
The 2020 will be a huge season for Stroman. He is a talented, competitive pitcher in the prime of his career, but he needs to offer consistency and stability to the Mets’ rotation.
Over his career, Stroman’s ERA has heavily fluctuated year by year: 3.65 in 2014, 4.37 in 2016, 3.09 in 2017, 5.54 in 2018 and 3.22 in 2019.
Getting out of the AL East and in the National League for a full season will help, as well. All things considered, Stroman is likely to finish with a sub-4.00 ERA and with plenty of quality starts for the New York Mets.