New York Mets have telling stat when these hurlers take the mound

Holmes has adjusted very nicely to being a starter, going 5-1 with a 2.74 ERA in his first eight starts as a Met. After working with the Mets' pitching lab to adjust his pitch mix and join the rotation in spring training, Holmes has gone six innings in three of his past four starts and has struck out 44 batters in 42.2 innings pitched.

Perhaps the more surprising development has been how automatic Canning became after winning a rotation spot in spring training. The Mets signed Canning in December to a one-year deal worth $4.25 million after the Atlanta Braves non-tendered him and have seen him go 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA in his first eight starts, punching out 42 batters over his 42 innings pitched.

While a few teams were willing to bet that Holmes could be a starting pitcher in the offseason, there was little interest in Canning, whose raw stuff intrigued the Mets enough to take a flier on him. Much like how the Mets rehabbed Sean Manaea and Luis Severino's values last season, Canning has revamped his arsenal in Queens and delivered on the promise that made him a highly touted prospect with the Angels.

Time will tell if Canning can keep up his current success and if Holmes can handle the increased workload of being a starter, but the Mets have been quite dominant when either takes the rubber this season. With both Manaea and Montas working their way back to the majors, the Mets have a very deep rotation to play with, which makes their early success on the mound no fluke.