Jacob deGromfor the NY POST” Watching Jake pitch, he [looked to be in] mid-season type and some of the men getting that taste of Jake in midseason form, so that was good to see those matchups, guys tasting good fastball right out of the shoot,” supervisor Luis Rojas said on a Zoom call as spring training 2.0 continued at Citi Field.
” Im glad we got that competitive ambiance out there,” Rojas said. “Some people did put the ball in play versus Jake in that very first inning, however this is more for the pitchers– the players are getting their timing, tracking in– however its about the pitchers.”
It is essential for pitchers to build up arm strength and feel comfy against live hitters and in that vein, Sunday was a success, specifically considering that the Mets best pitcher looked his typical dominant self.
“We were able to get some reads behind house plate there.”
Rojas said Sundays simulated video games were more important for the pitchers, given that there is only so much time for them to prepare yourself for the season, slated to begin July 24 versus the Braves in Queens, as The Posts Mike Puma reported.
” I believed Jake was overmatching men right out of eviction. His stuff was remarkable,” Rojas said. “We were able to get some checks out behind home base there.”
The back-to-back NL Cy Young Award winner was remarkable on Sunday, delivering two shutout innings in a simulated video game as the Mets started to increase workouts for the shortened 60-game 2020 MLB season.
The three-month layoff due to the unique coronavirus pandemic and labor disagreement didnt seem to have much of an influence on the 32-year-old ace right-hander.
While facing 9 players over 2 innings, deGrom just enabled singles to Dom Smith and Yoenis Cespedes. DeGrom twice retired Michael Conforto, getting him on a shallow fly ball to left field and a ground out to shortstop to end his afternoon.
While dealing with nine players over 2 innings, deGrom only allowed songs to Dom Smith and Yoenis Cespedes. He fanned newcomer Jake Marisnick to begin his outing and later on struck out Pete Alonso and Rene Rivera. DeGrom twice retired Michael Conforto, getting him on a shallow fly ball to left field and a ground out to shortstop to end his afternoon.
Jacob deGrom still has a couple of more weeks till the Braves invade Citi Field, however it does not look like hell need excessive time to be ready for the protecting NL East champs.
Facing the Mets daily lineup, deGrom was naturally ahead of the players. He initiated primarily weak contact, started out three and didnt walk a batter over 2 innings in which he tossed 34 pitches.
