Why New York Mets should move to a six-man rotation

The schedule isn't going to do the Mets any favors as last night's game was the first in a stretch of 16 in a row, which is followed by one off day and another 10 games in a row. That chunk of the schedule, which goes through September 14th, will have a significant impact on the Mets' postseason chances since it includes seven games with the Phillies, three with the Reds and three in Detroit against the Tigers.

This long run of games will also put a significant strain on the Mets' starting rotation, which has had trouble giving them length even with regular off days. While Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes delivered more encouraging results in their last starts, there has been speculation that the Mets are considering promoting prospect Brandon Spr oat to the majors to join the rotation as soon as next week.

Sproat started last night for Triple-A Syracuse and was dominant, striking out eight batters in six innings of work while allowing only one run on two hits. Syracuse currently has Sproat scheduled to start on Sunday, but the Mets may opt to begin a six-man rotation by calling him up to make his major league debut in Atlanta.

Why A Six-Man Rotation Makes Sense For The Mets

There are obvious benefits for the Mets with a six-man rotation, beginning with the fact that they would be able to avoid having Kodai Senga pitch on regular rest for a while. The Mets have not asked Senga to do that yet this season and forcing Senga to make that jump now could lead to a decline in his results.

While the extra rest could also allow the Mets to monitor innings for Holmes and their rookies, the most obvious benefit of the six-man rotation could be a strategic one. Anyone who has watched the Mets of late knows that their best pitcher has been David Peterson, and the current five-man rotation has him set to make his next start in Atlanta on Sunday.

Maintaining a five-man rotation would mean that Peterson would make his next three starts against the Braves on Sunday, at home against Miami on August 29th and in Detroit on September 3rd. That alignment would ensure Peterson not only misses out on the Mets' series against the Phillies next week but also their critical series in Cincinnati on the first weekend of September.

Inserting Sproat into the rotation on Sunday would ensure Peterson is in both of those series as well as the series in Philadelphia the following week. Maximizing Peterson's starts could make all the difference for the Mets' postseason positioning, which is good but can be improved with a quality run of winning.

The strain of a six-man rotation would also be mitigated by the roster expansion on September 1st, which would allow the Mets to add another reliever to their bullpen to go with their six starters. Once the run of 26 games in 27 days ends, the Mets can downshift back to a five-man rotation and begin figuring out how to set up themselves for postseason success.