Simple Man - DeGrom's Career as a Met

July 6, 2024

When Jacob DeGrom left the Mets in 2022 to the Rangers he left a legacy that will be hard to replicate.

In 2010, the New York Mets took a shot on a skinny 21 year old pitcher from Stetson University in the 9th round, and that player's name was Jacob DeGrom. Jacob started his Mets journey on June 10th, 2010 by signing a 1 year $95,000 deal. That year in 2010 Jacob DeGrom started to play for the Kingsport Mets in their rookie league, the start of his career in Kingsport would be the complete opposite of how his dominant major league career went. He would start 6 games, have a 5.19 ERA, allow 12.1 hits per 9 innings, give up 35 hits, and a 1.577 WHIP on 26 innings pitched. In October of 2010 DeGrom would face his first major injury when he needed Tommy John surgery that would put him out in 2011.  When 2012 came a fully healthy DeGrom would start his minor league career first playing for the Savannah Sand Gnats an A-level affiliate for the Mets. With his time in Savannah starting in 15 games with 89.2 innings pitched, DeGrom had just a 2.51 ERA and a 1.015 WHIP. This success would eventually lead Jacob to be promoted on August 9, 2012, to the St. Lucie Mets. In Port St. Lucie, he started 4 games, went 3-0, pitched a 2.08 ERA, and struck out 18 batters in 21.2 innings which would close out his first minor league season.

The start of his 2013 campaign would start in AA for the Binghamton Mets (Rumble Ponies now) and his numbers would not be good. Through 10 games started, he would have a 2-5 record, 4.80 ERA, 6.6 K/9, and 1.483 WHIP. Nevertheless, DeGrom was assigned to the Las Vegas 51s who were the Mets AAA team from 2013-2018 on May 6, 2013. In his time down in Las Vegas DeGrom pitched in 14 games posting a disappointing 4.52 ERA, 1.467 WHIP, 10.3 H/9, and a 4-2 record. After that season he would start a new slate in a new year but still in AAA in 2014. In 2014 DeGrom would go on to start 7 games, go 4-0, pitch a 2.58 ERA, and strike out 29 batters. But on May 13, 2014, Jacob DeGrom's minor league career came to an end when he received the call that he would be called up to Queens to pitch in the Major leagues after starting pitcher Dillon Gee got injured. 

On May 15, 2014, Jacob DeGrom took on the New York Yankees in a subway series classic, the 25 year old tossed 7.0 innings, 1 earned run and 6 strikeouts paving the path for what the next 8 years were about to be. The rest of the 2014 season would be dominant for DeGrom, he would have a 9-6 record, 2.69 ERA, 1.140 WHIP, and pitched a total of 140.1 innings pitched. That year DeGrom would become an NL Rookie of the Month 2x in July and September and that would not be the only thing he won that year, he would go on to win the NL Rookie of the Year being the first Met to win the award since pitcher Doc Gooden.

When 2015 came DeGrom would continue his tear through the major leagues. DeGrom pitched 191 innings, 2.54 ERA, 0.979 WHIP, and struck out 205 batters. That year Jacob DeGrom earned his first All-Star appearance and finished 7th in NL CY Young voting. 2015 was not only a major year for Jacob it was a huge year for the Mets also, they would finish at a 90-72 record and 1st in the NL East. The Mets that year would go on to win the NL but lose in the World Series. Jacob DeGrom would have 4 starts in that postseason run, his first start came in game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. DeGrom would have one of the best outings of his career that game, he would pitch 7 innings, give up 5 hits, 1 walk, strike out 13 batters, allow 0 runs, and earn the win.  In Game 5 of that series, DeGrom would appear again in a win or go home situation. In that game he pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 runs, 6 hits, 3 walks and striking out 7 batters, and getting the win. DeGrom would have an appearance in the NLCS and the WS that year, in the NLCS against the Cubs Degrom pitched for 7 innings, giving up 2 runs, 4 hits, and 1 walk as well as earning the win. In the World Series against the Royal DeGrom pitched in game 2, he pitched 5 innings, gave up 6 hits, and 4 runs, struck out only 2 batters, and got the loss in the game. That would eventually be his final start of the 2015 season.

In the next 2 seasons in 2016 and 2017, there would be a small dip in DeGrom’s numbers. In 2016, he pitched 148 innings, had a 3.04 ERA, had a career high WHIP at 1.203, career low K/9 at 8.7, career high H/9 at 8.7, and had a below .500 record for the only time in his career. Unfortunately, when the Mets were in a tight Wild Card race Jacob DeGrom would be shut down after a start on September 1st and ultimately be ruled out for the year on September 17th due to season-ending surgery on the ulnar nerve in his elbow. In 2017 although his runs, hits, home runs, and walks would all see a small spike DeGrom would cement himself as a strikeout pitcher, he would have his first double digit K/9 season with 10.7, and 239 strikeouts which would be the 3rd highest of his career which led him to be 7th in NL CY Young voting.

In 2018, 2019, and 2020 DeGrom would claim his spot at the top of the world, easily becoming the best pitcher in the MLB. Using the word “perfect” to describe DeGrom’s game in 2018 would be an understatement. DeGrom would post a career low and MLB low 1.70 ERA, pitched the highest innings of his career with 217, and had a 0.912 WHIP. That season DeGrom would be selected to the All-Star Game, win his first NL CY Young, and finish 5th in MVP Voting. 2019 Jacob DeGrom would be almost as special as 2018 Jacob DeGrom. In 2019, DeGrom would have a 2.43 ERA, 11.3 K/9, .971 WHIP, and lead the MLB in strikeouts with 255. That year Jacob would win a back-to-back NL CY Young award, have an All-Star appearance, and finish 10th in NL MVP Voting. With the shortened season in 2020, a 32 year old DeGrom could still produce high numbers, allowing 2.38 ERA, leading the MLB in K/9 with 13.8, and leading the MLB in strikeouts with 104. These stats would allow him to place 3rd in NL CY Young voting and be selected to first team all MLB.

In 2021 DeGrom would have a historical start, through 15 starts he would have a 7-2 record, 1.08 ERA, 14.3 K/9, 146 K’s, and 40 hits ultimately leading him to become an all-star. Unfortunately, that year, in July, DeGrom suffered from forearm tightness that would place him on IL and he would never pitch again in 2021 ending a historic 2021 run.

A fully healthy Jacob DeGrom would enter a contract year in 2022 with the Mets, in spring training that year everything was going well for DeGrom until he would suffer a stress reaction that would put him out until August 2nd. When Jacob DeGrom made his much anticipated start for the 65-37 against the Nationals DeGrom would go 5 innings, giving up 3 hits, 1 run, and strike out 6 batters in the process. That year DeGrom would finish with a 3.08 ERA, .749 WHIP, 14.3 K/9, and 102 strikeouts in 64.1 innings. This success would help lead the Mets to the playoffs where they took on the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card round. In that playoff series DeGrom would pitch in game 2, he would pitch 6 innings, 5 hits, 2 ER, and 8 strikeouts helping pull the Mets to the win. But it was that game where DeGrom would pitch his final game as a New York Met.

When Jacob DeGrom left the Mets after 12 years for the Texas Rangers cemented a legacy in Queens wearing the Orange & Blue that would be nearly impossible to replicate.