David Peterson continues strong run of starts for New York Mets

Peterson carried that success over into his first start of 2025, with a masterful pitching performance against a National League East foe, the Miami Marlins. In a six-inning start, Peterson allowed only two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out nine in the process, picking up his first win of the year and the 29th of his career.

A five-pitch pitcher, Peterson's repertoire on Monday saw a bit of a change in usage. While his sinker still played a heavy role, representing 28 of his 89 pitches (32%), he went to the changeup far more often (24%) in this start than he did for all of 2024 (16%).

The mixing of pitches worked in Peterson's favor, as the lefty generated 11 total whiffs on 38 swings. He also tallied 19 called strikes on the night, for 30 total called strikes or whiffs, a CSW rate of 34%.

He did struggle at times with limiting hard contact, however. Of the 13 balls the Marlins put in play off of Peterson, six were hard hit (95 mph exit velocity or higher), with two being home runs: one off the bat of Otto Lopez, and the other coming from Eric Wagaman. Fortunately, they were only solo shots, so the damage was limited to just those two runs against Peterson.

With the rotation in its current state, the Mets were in desperate need of someone to step up and be the ace the unit lacked. After the breakout performance last year, and an outstanding showing in his first start of this season, Peterson could be that guy.

The sinker and four-seam fastball did not play as well on Monday as they did last year for Peterson, but if he can find success with those pitches again, paired with his outstanding secondary offerings, the front of the rotation will look much better with a legitimate ace leading the way.