New York Mets: Noah Syndergaard On Valuable Asset List

New York Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard came in as the No.11 ranked asset in terms of value in all of the MLB on Dan Szymborski’s list.

The New York Mets have one of the most young, dynamic starting rotations seen in major league baseball in recent history. They have a number of top prospects and power arms that give the Mets an edge on the mound virtually every time they take the field. With most of them still not even at arbitration, the Mets will be getting a ton of value in the coming seasons without having to pay much.

One of those pitchers, and arguably the best of the bunch, is Noah Syndergaard. Dan Szymborski of ESPN would agree. He compiled a list of the best assets, or most team friendly contracts. Using ZiPS projections, Szymborski calculated the difference between the projected long-term performance of every player in baseball, and how much a team is projected to pay for that performance, whether from a signed contract or from predicting arbitration-year salaries.

Part of the process also included personal judgement, as the ZiPS projections were used as a baseline to help. Syndergaard came in at 11th overall on the list, and was the second overall pitcher; only the Chicago White Sox’s left-handed pitcher Chris Sale ranked above Syndergaard, and it was only by one spot as he came in at number 10.

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Syndergaard made his MLB debut on May 12th last season, showcasing the talents that made him a top prospect right away. The fact that he is so young, has already shown so well and is far away from free agency all played a part in him being ranked No. 11 overall. Here is what Szymborski had to say about Syndergaard:

"The Mets have arguably the best young pitching staff in baseball — I’d say they do, but don’t want to get into an unrelated argument — and the brightest jewel is Syndergaard and his 97 mph fastball. With an even crazier upside than Jacob deGrom (who just barely missed this list), better health than Zack Wheeler and more years away from free agency than Matt Harvey, Syndergaard is the most valuable Mets pitcher. Perhaps we shouldn’t be nicknaming him Thor, it’s Thor who should be nicknamed Noah."

The 6-feet-6 inch, 242 pound 23-year old burst onto the scene for the Mets last May. His debut had been much anticipated since he was the main piece acquired in the R.A. Dickey deal from December of 2012 that also netted the Mets starting catcher Travis d’Arnaud. d’Arnaud has been solid when healthy, but the crown jewel of that acquisition was Syndergaard, and he has not disappointed.

In his first taste of the major leagues, Syndergaard showed off that 97 MPH fastball early and often. While he struggled a little bit away from Citi Field, having a 4.23 ERA on the road compared to 2.46 at home, Syndergaard’s stats were great overall. He finished the regular season with 24 starts, compiling a record of 9-7 with 3.24 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 150 innings. He also struck out 166 batters over that time.

Despite it being his rookie season, Syndergaard pitched much of the same in the postseason. He made three starts and one appearance out of the bullpen, throwing 19 innings with 26 strikeoutes, compiling an ERA and WHIP of 3.32 and 1.21 respectively.

The Mets will hope to see more of the same from Syndergaard in year two as he was in year one. The future is extremely bright for Syndergaard as he will be a huge factor in the Mets getting back to the World Series or not.

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New York Mets: Noah Syndergaard Lands On Most Valuable Asset Rankings

By Kenneth Teape | Feb 25, 2016

New York Mets starting pitcher Noah Syndergaard came in as the No.11 ranked asset in terms of value in all of the MLB on Dan Szymborski’s list.

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