The hard-throwing Tyler Bashlor could not seem to find his footing during his 2019 New York Mets campaign. Home runs and lack of command derailed an expected progressive year for Bashlor.
It'll be Tyler Bashlor in a 3-0 game in the seventh. Bashlor was nasty in his last outing Saturday in SF, as we examined in today's series preview: https://t.co/ImkAGAFCNN pic.twitter.com/0ibDPrIfGd
— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) July 24, 2019
Bashlor had to wait a month before earning his call up to the big leagues. He was very effective during his first nine outings, he allowed only one run in 9.1 innings and struck out ten batters. Opposing hitters only batted .097 against Bashlor.
Quick Change of Events
Right when the Mets thought they had something in Bashlor, three of his next four outings results in him allowing runs. When Jeff McNeil came off the Injured List on June 4, the Mets optioned Bashlor. He came back up on July 20 and had a similar stint. Bashlor threw three straight scoreless outings before back to back three-run outings and went back down to Triple-A on August 3.
Two really impressive innings here from Tyler Bashlor. Six up, six down on 15 pitches (13 strikes). Still like him the most of all those up-and-down relievers in the organization.
— Tim Britton (@TimBritton) July 20, 2019
Bashlor returned during the September roster expansion and struggled with his consistency again. In limited September action, he allowed four runs in 5.2 innings and walked an alarming seven batters.
Bashlor is very interesting for the Mets bullpen in 2020. He has a very live arm and put together outings where he seemed untouchable. His fastball-curveball combination can be downright nasty, but it is control with both of those pitches that will determine if he is major league ready. It will be interesting to see what adjustments he makes with Jeremy Hefner as the pitching coach.
Grades:
Pitching Repertoire: B, His fastball sits around 95-96 but can touch triple digits. If he can hone in his curveball and changeup, it gives the Mets another weapon in their bullpen.
Control: F, 7.0 BB/9 doubled his 2018 total and was a massive regression. He also relied on his fastball velocity getting outs instead of locating.
Composure: D, Batters hit .385 in high leverage situations, but if he can limit the big innings, he will last longer in the big leagues.
Intangibles: A, He has a lot of confidence in his ability and pitches with swagger. Bashlor will be a weapon if he puts it all together.
Overall: D-, There were some excellent moments for Bashlor, but a lot of improvements have to be made for him to crack the 2020 bullpen.