New York Mets: Generation K forms a generation later than expected

Generation K takes shape for the New York Mets one generation after it was expected to.

New York Mets fans will remember the days of Paul Wilson, Bill Pulsipher and Jason Isringhausen all too well. They were set to be the next generation of Mets star pitchers. They were called “Generation K”. As the generation of Dwight Gooden and friends was on the way out, these guys were going to take the Mets tradition of great pitching forward into the next decade.

Unfortunately for New York, it didn’t work out that way. Isringhausen made his living as a closer briefly for the Mets before heading elsewhere, while the other two just fizzled out. The Mets won nothing in that timeframe and it ended up being a lot of hype for very little in terms of performance. Needless to say it has been a while since then, and it has taken a while for the team to build the pitching staff back up.

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But the times may be changing. Could our current staff of pitchers be “Generation K 2.0”? Why not?

The “Fab Five”, as it were, are not exactly junk ball pitchers. Everyone from Noah Syndergaard down to Zack Wheeler throws hard. When they are healthy they are strikeout pitchers and they are winners.

The majority of the staff was healthy in 2015 and they went on to face the Kansas City Royals in the World Series. It seemed like the Mets were on their way to a dominant run but the lack of health in the pitching staff brought that dream back down to Earth.

If Dave Eiland and Mickey Callaway can figure out the magic potion to keep them all healthy it will be something scary for the rest of the league. If Spring Training is any indication, which we all know has to be taken with a grain of salt, but if it is, watch out in 2018. The staff is healthy and looking good.

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Noah Syndergaard has eclipsed 100 MPH on the gun multiple times and has struck out 23 batters in 20 innings. Steven Matz has struck out 17 in 16 innings, although eight of them came in his last outing. Matt Harvey has fanned 13 in 14 2/3 innings. In just two starts, Jacob deGrom has struck out 12 in 7 2/3. Even Zack Wheeler has fanned 11 in eight innings.

Don’t be alarmed with the ERA numbers which aren’t great for some. The pitchers are working on things during Spring Training and they are going to give up hits and runs. The stuff is all there. They are ready to all pitch together in the same rotation.

It may be approximately 20 years too late, but “Generation K” works whenever the time is right.

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