Marcus Stroman, New York Mets. (Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
Marcus Stroman does not buy into Bill James’ preseason projection for the 2022 season one bit.
Few starters know how to toe the rubber every fifth day quite like Marcus Stroman does.
The New York Mets right-hander led the league with 33 starts in 2021. While he went 10-13 in those 33 starts, he did bolster a 3.02 ERA and a 1.145 WHIP in 179 innings pitched. Yet for some reason, Bill James had him slotted in fewer than 32 starts for the 2022 campaign. Stroman was not listed among the 11 pitchers projected to start 32 or more games for his team next season.
Stroman quote tweeted Jayson Stark’s reference to The Bill James Handbook saying he is definitely projected to make 33 or 34 starts for the Mets in 2022.
Marcus Stroman looks to prove Bill James’ preseason projection wrong in 2022
The Mets entered last season with a ton of expectations. It was Stroman’s first full season as a starter in the Mets rotation. He was traded over from the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019, but opted out of the 2020 campaign due to COVID. While the Mets were the darlings of the NL East throughout much of the season, they collapsed down the stretch to miss out on the NL postseason entirely.
While New York has been an unmitigated disaster since the All-Star break, the Mets can contend in the deep NL East if the starting pitching holds up. Of course, they will need the offense to be better than it was at times in 2021. However, a fully healthy New York rotation can stack up with just about anyone’s in baseball. Stroman getting the start every fifth day makes them competitive.
James shortchanging Stroman on expected starts will only serve as motivation for the right-hander this upcoming season.