This weekend offers a glimpse into the future for the Mets, who are turning to their touted rookies — Jonah Tong, Brandon Sproat and Nolan McLean — to start the three games against the Texas Rangers.
But the series at Citi Field also comes with a reminder of the past.
That’s because the Rangers’ starter in Friday night’s series opener, Jacob deGrom, was once one of the hope-inspiring headliners in the previous generation of phenom pitchers to come up with the Mets.
DeGrom debuted in 2014, right in the middle of a prospect pipeline that included Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz.
The flame-throwing deGrom was never considered the same level of blue-chip prospect as the other four, but he quickly established himself as the best of the bunch — and arguably the most dominant starter to put on a Mets uniform.
DeGrom’s 2.52 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over nine seasons with the Mets are both the best in team history, even edging Tom Seaver’s 2.57 ERA and 1.08 WHIP.
He averaged 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings as a Met. That’s a tick above his career rate of 10.8, which ranks third in MLB history, behind only that of Blake Snell (11.2) and Chris Sale (11.1).
DeGrom, 37, was the National League Rookie of the Year in 2014, won back-to-back NL Cy Young Awards in 2018-19, and earned four All-Star selections with the Mets.
Friday was set to be deGrom’s first time facing the Mets since he left as a free agent for Texas before the 2023 season.
“I’m excited to go and pitch at Citi Field,” deGrom said on Wednesday, via MLB.com. “That’s where my career started, so it holds a special place in my heart. It’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to it.”
The potential of an elite rotation featuring deGrom, Harvey, Syndergaard, Wheeler and Matz allowed long-suffering fans to dream a decade ago, and that group — minus an injured Wheeler — helped lead the Mets to the World Series in 2015.
But injuries largely capped what that they would do.
That fivesome did not make a complete turn of the rotation until 2018, nearly three years after Matz became the last of them to reach the majors.
All five underwent Tommy John surgery at some point during the Mets tenures, and the group slowly began to break up.
The last to leave was deGrom, who totaled only 26 starts over his final two seasons with the Mets from 2021-22 due to injuries.
He signed a five-year, $185 million deal with the Rangers after the 2022 season, then missed most of his first two seasons with Texas due to the second Tommy John surgery of his career.
But deGrom has returned to his ace form this year, bringing an 11-7 record, a 2.78 ERA and 169 strikeouts in 155.2 innings over 27 starts into Friday.
“There might be a little bit more [nerves] throwing there,” deGrom said. “I’ve pitched a lot there. Mets fans were always good to me. Taking the mound in front of that crowd was always a fun experience. Now I’m on the other side doing it. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes.”
Perhaps fittingly, Saturday afternoon marks the Mets’ first-ever Alumni Classic game, which Harvey and Syndergaard are expected to take part in.
These days, Mets fans are dreaming of what a rotation led by Tong, Sproat and McLean can accomplish over the next decade.
All three were among the Mets’ top-five prospects this year before they debuted in rapid succession after the All-Star break in an embattled rotation starved for length and production.
The trio has largely provided that. Friday was set to be the third career MLB start for Tong, who led the minor leagues in ERA (1.43) and strikeouts (179) at two different levels. He entered Friday with a 1-1 record and a 4.09 ERA in the majors.
Sproat, who is set to start Saturday, allowed three runs over six innings and struck out seven in his MLB debut last weekend in Cincinnati.
And McLean is scheduled for Sunday, bringing with him a 4-1 record, a 1.42 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 31 innings over five career starts.
The future appears bright for those three, but the playoff-hopeful Mets are counting on them in the present day, too — much in the way they relied on deGrom and company in their last World Series run.
“It’s encouraging, but we need the other guys to step up,” manager Carlos Mendoza said Sunday of his rookie-filled rotation. “We need everyone here, not only the younger guys. We’re counting on Sean Manaea, we’re counting on Clay Holmes and [David] Peterson and everyone in the rotation. So it’s good to see those kids coming up here and giving us a chance to win a baseball game, but we’re going to need them as well.”
