The New and Improved Mike Pelfrey

The starting pitcher on the mound at Shea last night was challenging hitters, throwing strikes and thriving with confidence. Yes, that was Mike Pelfrey. He went an impressive eight innings, struck out a career-high eight batters, walked only two and let in one run. He made it into the ninth inning for the first time in his career, and almost picked up the win (thanks, Billy Wagner). Is he finally getting it? Pelfrey was taken with the ninth overall pick in the 2005 draft. Because contract negotiations dragged on so long (read: Scott Boras), he didn't begin his pro career until 2006, though it seems like he's been with the Mets for 10 years already. He has not had any consistent success at the Major League level yet, which begs the question: Did the Mets rush him? Not every pitcher can come up and be a Dwight Gooden or Tom Seaver and have almost instant success. But you would at least like an upward progression, where you can see that the pitcher is learning and moving forward on the right path. Pelfrey has had so many fits and starts that who knows where he is in his career? One start (how about May 15th against Washington; 7.2 innings, one run) he can look like a future ace and the next (May 21st at Atlanta; four innings, six runs) he looks like he doesn't belong in the big leagues. This has gone his whole, albeit somewhat brief, career. When Pelfrey was pitching at Wichita State his breaking pitch was a big overhand curve to complement his 90-plus sinking fastball. The Mets made him scrap that, and he's been struggling with his off-speed pitches ever since. Maybe he should have stayed in the minors for two full seasons working on his secondary pitches instead of learning them at the big league level. His success in the minors (176 IP, 3.12 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 167 K's, 62 BB's) may seem to indicate that he had nothing else to prove down there, but his struggles with the Mets (7?15, 4.99 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, .303 BAA) point to the other conclusion. He could have been perfecting his changeup and slider or still be throwing his curve in a stress-free environment, building up his confidence and been more of a polished pitcher when called up. At this point in Pelfrey's career if you send him down to New Orleans his confidence may be shattered so the team has put themselves in a tough position. Almost every start it seems as if he's pitching for his spot in the rotation. And he often seems tentative on the mound, and afraid to trust his stuff. He comes off as a big, goofy doofus rather than an assassin with a killer instinct. But in his last three starts he's been a different pitcher. His ERA is 1.71 in 20 innings pitched, giving up only four runs, striking out 15 and walking six. He's keeping his free passes and pitch counts down. To put it simply, it looks like he knows what he's doing out there now. It's only been three outings but maybe he's onto something. He's shown flashes of greatness here and there the last three years but nothing consistent. Maybe this is the time where it all turns around for him. But his career may have gone a lot smoother if the Mets had handled him differently.