The New York Mets will enter the 2020 season with a new pitching coach. Jeremy Hefner, who did a phenomenal job with the Minnesota Twins last season, will try to work his magic in Queens.
The 33-year old had a 8-15 mark in the big leagues with a 4.65 ERA and 4.15 FIP in 224.1 frames, all with the Mets between 2012 and 2013.
As Dan Hayes of The Athletic outlined in a fine article, Hefner has what it takes to be very good at absorbing and transmitting pitching knowledge.
Meet the New York Mets’ newest weapon
Hefner was a key cog in revitalizing the Twins’ pitching staff. Minnesota enjoyed excellent seasons from Jose Berrios, Michael Pineda, Jake Odorizzi, Taylor Rogers, Trevor May, Tyler Duffey and others. The Twins staff, which had Hefner as an member, made a weapon out of Martin Perez’s cutter.
Hefner’s tenure with the Twins started in 2017 as an advanced scout. He ascended to the assistant pitching coach role in 2019.
He can be very helpful to a Mets organization that is often described as “dysfunctional.†His vision, inclination to include and use analytics and prowess at establishing successful communication channels with the players will be assets for the entire ballclub.
Hefner is good at soaking up analytics, digesting the information, and feeding it to his pitchers. He does it in a way they can understand it and apply the data in games.
The former Met is the quintessential filter of information that is so necessary in organizations nowadays.
Manager Carlos Beltran, when initially hired, expressed his desire to make analytics more user-friendly to his players.
License to dream
Imagine his work with a talented pitcher like Michael Wacha, or with Noah Syndergaard in his quests for consistency. The former can make the leap from injury-prone and underachiever to the solid, mid-rotation arm he was supposed to be, and the latter can take the next step from great hurler to truly elite. Mets’ fans can only dream, but they have the right to do so thanks to Hefner’s excellent track record.
Additionally, Hefner can help a rather underwhelming group of pitching prospects to sharpen their games and achieve their ceiling.
The gig with the New York Mets is the biggest challenge of Jeremy Hefner’s career so far,. That includes his time as a player. Now, he will call the shots pitching-wise. Now, he will impart knowledge.