July 8th, 1993, it was a Thursday. I had great seats behind the dugout, and was pumped to see the next great pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. He was being compared to Nolan Ryan. (whose pitches I used to chart on graph paper as a kid) His name was Todd Van Poppel... Three walks and a Mo Vaughn grand slam later, I was completely confused. This wasn't supposed to happen! The A's were down 4-0 and they weren't even out of the first inning! They would go on to lose the game 11-9. Van poppel ended up pitching 3 innings, giving up 7 earned runs on 5 hits and 5 walks. It wasn't cool... Van Poppel would never live up to expectations. His fastball was too straight, didn't hold runners very well, and quite frankly, didn't know how to pitch.
I was watching another up-and-comer the other day on TV that made me want to write this... His name was Noah Syndergaard. I hate to say it but he kinda reminded me of Todd Van Poppel. Now, I could be way off with this comparison, but for some reason I think the Mets will regret not moving this guy while he still has a ton of value. On the surface, he's a big guy that throws hard, but I see a young kid that will struggle to hold runners and keep his walks down. This is a recipe for disaster, especially in today's game where speed is making a comeback. Pitching at Citi Field will help him, but I will be surprised if he ever reaches expectations. Bold Prediction: Syndergaard will never win 13 games in a season for his entire career
If you hated that comparison, this one might make you angry... But the more I watch the Matt Harvey, the more I see the one-time Athletic, Rich Harden!! Harden won over 60% of his decisions and ended his career with a 3.76 ERA. What's wrong with that you ask? Well, he just couldn't stay healthy! They have the same build, same easy motion, same 98 mph fastball, and dare I say it? Same propensity to get injured?
What always caught my eye when I watched Harden pitch was how easily he could throw a ball so HARD! He seemed way to short and his motion was just too compact to create so much velocity. His body didn't look like a pitchers either. He looked more like a bodybuilder. Now, whether or not he was taking anything, nobody knows, but I'll just say what he was doing on the mound did not look natural at all! And maybe, just maybe, that's why he always ended up hurt? When I watch Matt Harvey pitch, it eerily reminds me of Harden... Bold Prediction: Harden ended his career with 59 wins. Harvey won't reach 100 wins for his career.
So my message to Mets GM Sandy Alderson. (who was ironically once the GM of the Athletics)
History repeats itself! Take a chance and trade these guys. You'll be a legend! Hint. Hint. The Marlins young outfielder might be a Hall of Famer one day... And I'm not referring to Stanton...