Jacob deGrom still has a few more weeks until the Braves invade Citi Field, but it doesn’t appear like he’ll need too much time to be ready for the defending NL East champions.
The back-to-back NL Cy Young Award winner was impressive on Sunday, delivering two shutout innings in a simulated game as the Mets began to ramp up workouts for the shortened 60-game 2020 MLB season.
Facing the Mets’ everyday lineup, deGrom was predictably ahead of the hitters. He initiated mostly weak contact, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter over two innings in which he threw 34 pitches.
The three-month layoff due to the novel coronavirus pandemic and labor dispute didn’t seem to have much of an impact on the 32-year-old ace right-hander.
“Watching Jake pitch, he [looked to be in] midseason form and some of the guys getting that taste of Jake in midseason form, so that was good to see those matchups, guys tasting good fastball right out of the shoot,” manager Luis Rojas said on a Zoom call as spring training 2.0 continued at Citi Field.
While facing nine hitters over two innings, deGrom only allowed singles to Dominic Smith and Yoenis Cespedes. He fanned newcomer Jake Marisnick to begin his outing and later struck out Pete Alonso and Rene Rivera. DeGrom twice retired Michael Conforto, getting him on a shallow fly ball to left field and a groundout to shortstop to end his afternoon.
“I thought Jake was overmatching guys right out of the gate. His stuff was impressive,” Rojas said. “We were able to get some reads behind home plate there.”
Rojas said Sunday’s simulated games were more important for the pitchers, since there is only so much time for them to get ready for the season, slated to begin July 24 against the Braves in Queens, as The Post’s Mike Puma reported.
It is key for pitchers to build up arm strength and feel comfortable against live hitters and in that vein, Sunday was a success, especially since the Mets’ best pitcher looked his usual dominant self.
“I’m glad we got that competitive vibe out there,” Rojas said. “Some guys did put the ball in play against Jake in that first inning, but this is more for the pitchers — the hitters are getting their timing, tracking in — but it’s about the pitchers.”