Right-handed pitcher David Peterson has arrived early at the Mets' spring training facility in Port St. Lucie Fla. and is ready to build off a promising 2022 campaign.
Peterson made 19 starts and 28 appearances last season, going 7-5 with a 3.83 ERA and 126 strikeouts across 105.2 innings.
But during the season, Peterson was often shuffled between the big-leagues and Triple-A Syracuse. This was a role he was able to adjust to by focusing on seizing the next opportunity in front of him.
“It all starts with knowing I don’t have control," Peterson told Inside the Mets by phone. "I can pitch as well as I want to and things aren’t really going to change. It’s tough when you throw six innings and then you get called in the office and are told you’re going back to Syracuse. But that’s not my job to play GM."
"My job is to go out there and focus on one pitch at a time. I think that’s what kept me really locked in the whole year was focusing on the next opportunity. I can either take advantage of it or not be ready for it.
"I always wanted to be ready for the next opportunity and I think the confidence on my end comes from the communication from (GM) Billy (Eppler) and (manager) Buck (Showalter). They were great in terms of letting me know what the plan was and not really keeping me in the dark. It’s a lot easier for me as the player to know what’s going on and to be able to just focus on the on field stuff because I know they have the plan for the off the field stuff."
This year, the Mets went out and signed Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga and Jose Quintana, which leaves Peterson and Tylor Megill being projected as depth starters in Syracuse.
According to Peterson, his role hasn't been communicated to him as of yet, but he's looking forward to camp's official start to find out the plan.
"I haven’t really talked to anybody lately in terms of Billy or Buck, so I don’t really know what (my role) is going to look like," Peterson said. "I’m excited to officially report to spring training and talk to them to see what the plan is.
"I can’t really make any guesses or predictions because it’s not my job. My job is to be prepared and ready to pitch and from what I know, prepare to start and help this team win."
And as far as the competition in the rotation goes, Peterson is welcoming the challenge.
“There’s always competition," Peterson said. You never really want it to be easy or get comfortable. Whether it’s someone in my position competing or its someone like a (Max) Scherzer and a (Justin) Verlander, who are two high level pitchers that want to go out there and compete.
"There’s not a whole lot of complacency in terms of attitude in this rotation or on this team, so I take it as a great challenge and something I look forward to. When you have that many guys competing for spots and wanting to get better it only helps the team going forward."
Whether he is in a similar role as last year or not, Peterson has the utmost confidence in himself to be a starter in the Mets' rotation. He also believes he has proven himself capable of being a high level starter in the big-leagues.
“I see myself as a big-league starter and I have the confidence in myself to be a starter in this rotation," he said. "But there’s nothing in this game that’s given. You’ve gotta go out and earn it every single day. If you’re expecting things to be handed to you you’re not going to be around long.
“I have the confidence in myself and my ability and I think I’ve proven it to myself that I can go out and be a high level big-league starter. But you can’t just fall back on a good start, a good season, a good couple seasons."
After an injury riddled 2021 season, Peterson, 27, is entering his fourth year in the big-leagues with the utmost confidence following a bounce back 2022 campaign.
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