2017 Season Thus Far: Disappointments
The Mets Rotation:
The New York Mets came into the 2017 campaign with one of the unanimously elite rotations in baseball. Headed by studs like Noah Syndergaard and Jacob DeGrom,youngsters Zach Wheeler, Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman looked to compliment the veterans. There was even hope that a now healthy Matt Harvey would rediscover his All-Star form to reform a three-headed-monster with Degrom and ‘Thor’. Unfortunately for the Mets and Manager Terry Collins, almost everything that could’ve gone wrong has. Syndergaard went down with a major injury, Harvey’s season has been marred with controversy and sub-par results, and Gsellman and Wheeler have been far from spectacular. Sporting a team ERA of 5.01 and with no return date in site for Syndergaard, a drastic turnaround will be needed for the Mets pitching staff to redefine their season.
Phillies Offense:
While the 2017 Philadelphia Phillies were far from playoff favourites prior to this season there were several bright spots to look forward too. Young hitters Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco headlined the Phillies young hitting core but both have stumbled this season. Both sporting sub-.290 OBPs, the youngsters have struggled to anchor the Phillies run scoring efforts. Joining the struggles of these two is Michael Saunders, who was brought in to temporarily fill a corner outfield role following his All-Star appearance with the Jays in 2016. Saunders was recently Designated-For-Assignment, likely signaling the end of his Phillies tenure, epitomizing the Phillies inability to push runs across in 2017. Luckily for Philadelphia, Franco and Herrera are still regarded as quality young hitters, and should be expected to overcome their troubles in time for the franchise to compete in the future.
San Francisco Giants:
After the Giants streak of even year World Series Championships came to an end last season. their attempt at starting a new streak does not seem to be in the cards in 2017. After an injury to workhouse and ace pitcher Madison Bumgarner, a perceived strength in their pitching staff has now only managed to perform at a league average quality. Free Agent closer Mark Melancon has struggled early in his Giants tenure and San Fran’s offence has been unable to score runs, sporting an abysmal .302 team OBP. With the Dodgers, Rockies, and DiamondBacks all dominating so far this season the Giants sit already 20 games behind their division lead, a likely insurmountable total. The Giants may just have to wait for their even year magic to help them re-discover their groove next season.
Clayton Kershaw:
Wait! Hear me out…
Clayton Kershaw is still the best pitcher in baseball. He just hasn’t been as unbelievably elite as we are used too. After coming off three of four seasons of a sub-2 ERA, Kershaw’s 2017 mark has “ballooned” to 2.61. Kershaw has, in fact, struggled to keep the ball in the park this season, with his HR/9 sitting at 1.5, significantly higher than his career mark of .6. It is pretty unjust to include Kershaw as a “disappointment” thus far in the 2017 season, but I felt it was important to draw attention to the fact that the Dodger ace may be “struggling” his way to another Cy Young calibre season. Kershaw still leads the NL in Innings-Pitched, and would anchor any rotation in baseball, but his 2017 may not be as spectacular as he would like. We are witnessing one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game and should appreciate it.
