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New York Mets: Robert Gsellman Lands on Top Prospect List

By Nick Ziegler

Sep 30, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Robert Gsellman (65) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 30, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Robert Gsellman (65) pitches against the Philadelphia Phillies during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Mets are no stranger to developing talented pitchers. Robert Gsellman appears to be following in the footsteps of some of those pitchers.

In 2016, the New York Mets were ravaged by injuries to their starting rotation. Coming into the season, the Mets were considered to have one of the best starting rotations in baseball. However, the old saying you can never have too much pitching was certainly true for the Mets.

At the end of the season, the Mets were down to just Noah Syndergaard and Bartolo Colon from their Opening Day rotation. Due to injuries, young pitchers were called upon to help the Mets make the playoffs. One of them was right-hander Robert Gsellman.

Despite being an unknown, Gsellman made seven starts and eight appearances for the Mets in 2016. He was able to total a 4-2 record, 2.42 ERA, and 42 strikeouts in 44.2 innings. After the surprisingly good season, it is no surprise to see Gsellman land on Keith Law’s top 80 prospects list.

After not being ranked by Law in 2016, Gsellman is the 76th ranked prospect. Here’s what Law had to say about Gsellman.

"Gsellman was a crafty, command right-hander until mid-2016 when his velocity started to climb rapidly so that when he reached the majors in August, he was pitching at 92-96 mph. Gsellman is a sinkerballer by trade, complemented with the slightly above average curveball he uses as a put-away pitch as well as an average changeup — and, of course, if Dan Warthen has laid hands on a guy, he probably has a decent slider too.That’s four pitches, nothing truly plus, but with his command, he was always going to be at least a solid No. 5 starter. With this stuff now, he’s a No. 4 trending up to a No. 3, and I’d be very surprised if he gave the Mets anything less than three years as a solid-average big league starting pitcher."

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Due to a number of the Mets’ starters coming back from surgery this offseason, it is hard to gauge what their rotation will look like to start the season. Assuming they are all healthy, it could be loaded. On the other hand, having a pitcher like Gsellman with a bright future and some experience is valuable. The Mets have been developing pitchers rather well in recent years. As of now, you can add Gsellman to the long list of young pitchers.

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