Mike Pelfrey

2013

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2012

It looked like Pelfrey had taken a step forward in 2010, cutting back on big innings and reducing home runs allowed. Those strides led manager Terry Collins to name Pelfrey as his Opening Day starter in 2011 with Johan Santana out. That move proved disastrous as Pelfrey struggled with the command and control of all of his pitches from the beginning of the year and never got on track, regressing in the areas he made strides in during 2010. Pelfrey, who earned $3.925 million last season, is eligible for arbitration and his poor year might depress his award enough to warrant the Mets bringing him back in 2012 as the team's fourth starter.

2011

Pelfrey recovered nicely in 2010 after posting a 5.03 ERA during the 2009 season. He won a career-high 15 games and also tossed more than 200 innings for the second time. Overall, Pelfrey's numbers were good, but after topping out at 10-2 on June 25, he struggled for the next six weeks and almost lost his spot in the rotation. The key for Pelfrey is his split-finger fastball. When it's on, it becomes the solid second pitch he needs to go with his sinking fastball. When it stays up in the zone, he becomes a one-trick pony and gets hammered. Pay attention to his pace on the mound and body language as those are also tell-tale signs as to how well he is pitching. Pelfrey continued his career pattern of not giving up key hits with runners on base, so it may just be finding a way/learning to limit the damage. That said, he made solid strides last season in cutting back on big innings and reducing home runs allowed and he should open 2011 as the Mets' top starter with Johan Santana out.

2010

Big Pelf came up extremely small in 2009, failing to build on his success from 2008. The skids really came off Pelfrey's season after his first nine starts of the year, when he was 4-1 with a 3.88 ERA, as he finished 10-12 with a 5.03 ERA and 1.514 WHIP. He allowed 18 homers, six more than last year - and he pitched 16.1 more innings in 2008. Pelfrey's walk rate climbed to 3.2 per nine innings this season from 2.9 in 2008, contributing to the rise in his WHIP from 1.360 last season. Pelfrey had a tumultuous year - he consulted a sports psychologist in May to help him deal with a case of recurring balks and he became a first-time dad, all while fighting to contain a competitive fire that sometimes pushes him over the edge. Pelfrey has a lot to prove in 2010 and is penciled in to the middle of the Mets' rotation.

2009

Pelfrey finally took that next step in his development, having the kind of year Mets fans and his owners had been hoping for, with 19 quality starts in his 32 outings. Pelfrey earned a rotation spot with a solid enough spring coupled with Orlando Hernandez's injury, but struggled early and nearly lost his spot, before turning it around with a brilliant June-August, then faded in September, which may have been due to the nearly 50-inning increase in his workload. Pelfrey's struggles late came when he left his sinker up, which usually does not occur when a pitcher is tired, as he normally gets more downward action on it, but he may have overcompensated for his tiredness by trying to throw harder, resulting in less downward action. Pelfrey learned how to pitch in 2008, dialing down the velocity on his 92-97 mph sinking fastball for better control, and he will open 2009 as the team's second or third starter. If he can find a way to beat Florida, against whom he went 0-4 with a 7.11 ERA, 15 wins could be in the cards.

2008

Pelfrey, who still relies on his 92-97 mph sinking fastball way too often and seems uncomfortable throwing his breaking pitch, lost his first seven decisions before notching his first major-league win in September. Those seven losses came in between several stints in the minors, and after notching his first win, Pelfrey earned two more pitching fairly well before getting blasted his final start of the year. Despite the small strides, his inability to consistently get his slider over for strikes and develop his other off-speed pitches have dimmed his status as a prospect. Pelfrey may get a chance to fill a starting spot out of spring training but he could just as likely be dealt elsewhere or open the year at Triple-A.

2007

Pelfrey, like Philip Humber, signed in the offseaon after he was drafted, but unlike Humber, Pelfrey did not suffer a major injury and was able to advance all the way up to the majors in his rookie year. Pelfrey blew through three levels in the minors, posting a combined 9-2 record while striking out 109 and walking 33 to go along with a sterling 2.43 ERA in 96.1 innings pitched. He possesses a 92-97 mph sinking fastball and can effectively neutralize lefties with a straight changeup. However, after being promoted, he lost confidence in both his changeup and curveball, forcing him to rely solely on his fastball, which hurt him in the majors. Pelfrey strained his right lat muscle in August, sidelining him most of the remainder of the season. He then was unable to work on a slider, which might replace his curveball. He is expected to be 100 percent by spring training where he might compete for one of the spots at the back-end of the Mets rotation.

2006

The Mets selected Pelfrey ninth overall in the 2005 draft. At Wichita State, he consistently blew hitters away with a 92-97 mph sinking fastball and effectively neutralized lefties with a straight changeup. He has become more consistent with his curveball, too. After a similar holdout and layoff, 2004 first-rounder Philip Humber overthrew and needed Tommy John surgery. Hopefully the same won't happen with Pelfrey.