David Peterson pitched through injuries for years. Before the season, it was revealed that he was pitching with a torn labrum in his hip. Footage of Peterson pitching last year makes it clear that he was not able to use his full body.
Peterson was not able to use his left lower half. That made him miss high and away a lot. The lefthander could not finish using his body and his left side was flying open. A classic pitching rule is to always finish with your whole body. Peterson was not able to do that. He was clearly not functioning at full capacity.
Peterson has come back as a totally different pitcher, one able to use his full body. Peterson has thrown 85 innings since coming back. He has the sixth lowest ERA of any pitcher in the NL who has thrown at least 80 innings.
Peterson has a 2.85 ERA. Most importantly, he has put the Mets in a position to win in basically every one of his 15 starts. Earlier in the year, the Mets had a run where they won eight straight games which he started.
The Mets are now on a four game win streak when the lefty pitches. New York has a very impressive 12-3 record in games started by Peterson. Walks and the inability to attack the strike zone have been huge problems for Peterson.
He has still struggled this year, but he is clearly attempting to attack hitters more. Peterson is pitching with more confidence than ever.
That makes sense since he is having his greatest amount of success. The more confident he is, the more aggressively he pitches and the better he does because of it.
Peterson walked two in his last start, but he pitched aggressively. The left hander was throwing a lot of first pitch strikes that often led to hard hit balls but, for the most part, the contact found a fielder. Throwing strikes is very important.
Peterson has experienced some luck. But that is part of baseball and, if you throw strikes and pitch to contact, there’s a great chance that even a hard hit ball will find a glove.
A walk just allows the opponent free baserunners and drives a pitcher’s pitch count up. Peterson was able to pitch into the eighth inning against San Diego because he attacked hitters. It was a stark change to the lefty’s usual pitch count, which can reach the triple digits by the fifth inning.
Peterson has run the gauntlet against good lineups recently and excelled. Carlos Mendoza and the Mets are gaining confidence in him and, understandably, giving him a longer leash.
The 28 year old is finally becoming the pitcher New York hoped for since he was called up five years ago. Peterson will be an important piece throughout the stretch run and for years to come.
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