2014 IPP: Jennry Mejia

[Benjamin Grimm]

It was moderately popular last year, so we'll try it again this year. IPP stands for Individual Player Predictions. These will be threads where we share our expectations of how a player will perform in the current year. Feel free to make your predictions as specific or as vague as you like. (You can find a listing of the 2013 IPPs here.)

I'm rooting for Jennry Mejia to be part of the Mets rotation for at least the next few years. That may come to pass, but I think he'll see most of his 2014 action from out of the bullpen. He'll spend some time in Vegas this year, but mostly he'll be with the Mets. Five starts, thirty relief appearances. 3.55 ERA.

[Theoldmole]

Bullpen, solid season, ERA under 3.00.

[Guest d'Kong76]

Starts off as very-serviceable pen guy ... will get some injury starts.

[MFS62]

Fifth starter out of Spring Training.
The cutter works all year, and he has a breakout season.
30 starts, 2.96 ERA, 8.3K/IP, 1.20 WHIP.

Later

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

I like the bullpen-then-some-late-starts thing. I mean, I don't like it-- if he's healthy, I think he's more than earned his shot in the five-man-- but I think that's what will happen. Call him Reverse Carlos Torres-- he'll swing, but better in the starts.

33 G, 9 GS, 88 1/3 IP, 4-3 record, 3.44 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 78 K, 7.8 K/9, 2.9 BB/9, 5 HR allowed

[smg58]

I think he'll start in the pen and then they'll be afraid to move him because they'll have better rotation option than pen options. 2.80 ERA in 70 IP, get the 8th inning job and runs with it.

[batmagadanleadoff]

I still get him all mixed up with Jeurys Familia.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

He looked really great a couple of times last year. If its even conceivable that he's as good this year, look out.

But, I'm not really counting on it. Really, I'm fairly optimistic for the team this year but drilling down to its components is so darn sobering.

6-3, 3.20 in 13 promising starts until his arm suddenly flies off mid-delivery, striking Laz Diaz dead. Umpires spend the rest of the year wearing Laz Diaz memorial patches affixed to their sleeves.

[Ceetar]

There's roughly zero reason he shouldn't be the 5th starter, but seems it's leaning away from that.

120 IP, 20 starts, 3.8 ERA, 103 Ks 7-4 record.

[Lefty Specialist]

Probably fills the hole when Dice-K commits virtual seppuku on the mound at some point in early-mid season.

4-3, 4.50, lotsa strikeouts.

[Edgy MD]

On a good run right now or for reals?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Between the strikeout stuff and the fact that even his misses tend to get pounded into the ground/hit weakly, I don't think the question was how good he can be, was it? (Leastways, not the primary one.)

So, yeah, can he keep this up and not fray a labrum/have the elbow flare up/strain an eyebrow?

[batmagadanleadoff]

Here's the Baseball Prospectus entry from its 2014 annual, released just before last season began:

You have to feel for Mejia. First he inexplicably made the Mets as a reliever out of 2010 spring training, botching his burgeoning development as a starter. Once he'd cleared that hurdle, he underwent Tommy John surgery in mid-2011. After recovering from that, he reported to Triple-A Buffalo in 2012, where the Mets once again couldn't decide if he should start or relieve. And finally, after all that, Mejia made five solid major-league starts in 2013, with 27 strikeouts against four walks in 27 innings ... and on August 28th, he underwent season-ending surgery to remove bone chips from his elbow. There's a great pitcher in here, we swear - try as the Mets and Mother Nature might to keep him down.