[JimMorrison]

Opening Day Rotation:

Ray Washburn, 24, (4.27 ERA, 4.11 FIP in 13 starts) - Washburn was acquired at the deadline last year for Felix Mantilla and he looks to be our future ace for now. He has great control and three really solid pitches that should help him get batters out. He also is a workhorse and can stay in games longer than most. Washburn is still young and I don’t want to expect too much but he should be a solid starter at his worst which is better than anything we had really last year.

Al Jackson, 27, (4.51 ERA, 4.27 FIP in 34 starts) - Jackson was really our ace last year as he just pitched a ton of innings for us and didn’t completely stink. He has a weird profile as none of his pitches are truly great and he does not strike out many, but he does get out of jams and doesn’t lose control of games. On most teams he’d be a #5 starter, but he’s our #2 and just needs to be an average starter for this team.

Don Larsen, 33, (5.16 ERA, 4.20 FIP in 22 starts) - Larsen came back to New York in a trade with the Giants and really struggled here. I look at his numbers and it feels like he was just really unlucky, his FIP was a full run lower than his ERA and his BABIP was .290. Even in those 22 bad starts, he still pitched a ton of innings and was valuable in that sense. I think Larsen is primed for a bounce back season here and like Jackson, I just need him to be a serviceable starter.

Luis Arroyo, 36, (5.79 ERA, 4.07 FIP in 35 appearances with the Yankees and Boston) - So I traded for Arroyo this off-season with plans to use him as a reliever, but our manager Casey Stengel wants him in the rotation. I can see why but his stamina is a flaw of his and I am worried he is not going to last in games. For now I will try this experiment out, but if it’s failing, Arroyo will go back to the bullpen here.

Willie Smith, 24, (0.89 ERA, 1.14 FIP in 25 starts in A Detroit) - Smith was mentioned in the Outfielders part of this preview and for good reason. The plan from our manager is to try Smith as the #5 starter to give him a shot to pitch. Our scouts actually like him more than Arroyo, Larsen and even Jackson so there may be something there. We have some relievers that were starters for us last year that we can use if Smith can’t cut it, but I don’t mind trying this out to see if we could have a solid starter here.

So yeah our rotation is something... Washburn is really the only “sure thing” while Jackson and Larsen were locks but are not talented arms. Both Arroyo and Smith are going to be experiments here and they could work really well, or be a complete disaster. When you lose 112 games, sometimes you have to throw things at the wall to see what sticks.

Opening Day Bullpen:

Ron Herbel, 25, (3.33 ERA, 3.53 FIP in 28 appearances) - Herbel was another piece we got back in the Hickman trade and surprisingly became one of the few actually decent relievers we had in our bullpen. Herbel will be in long relief but I’d be inclined to give him a bigger role if things start well again in ‘63.

Tom Kelley, 19, (No stats) - We drafted Kelley in the third round of the draft and he’s improved a ton since November. His stuff is electric and while he has no major league experience, we have to try out an arm like his in the bullpen. Control could be an issue but I also plan starting him in long relief for us.

Jack Curtis, 26, (5.90 ERA, 4.53 FIP) - Curtis was a starter for us last season and really stunk. His pitches are pretty lackluster and while he does do a good job at preventing walks, he has no real strikeout ability, which I’d really want for a reliever... Not expecting much here honestly, this bullpen has very few options.

Dick Donovan, 35, (5.91 ERA, 4.84 FIP for Boston) - Donovan was acquired in the off-season as a starter but our manager wanted to have Arroyo there instead. Looking at how Donovan was as a starter in Boston makes me understand why he feels that way. Donovan had some more recent success as a reliever in years past with Cleveland and Washington, so this could be a solid option for us, we will have him in middle relief.

Ken Mackenzie, 29, (5.13 ERA, 5.41 FIP in 45 appearances) - Mackenzie was flat out terrible for us last year but our scouts still like him and we really don’t have any other options here. I am hoping he’s more of a 4-4.5 ERA guy, but who knows at this point?

Jay Hook, 26, (5.71 ERA, 5.48 FIP in 28 starts) - Like Curtis, Hook was another failed starter for us in ‘62 and was one of the worst pitchers in baseball. As a reliever he does look better, but that’s not saying much and this could be another ugly season for Hook.

Roger Craig, 33, (5.33 ERA, 4.88 FIP in 32 starts) - The final and third member of the Failed Starters club is Craig who I thought had a bit of an unlucky season relative to the other two guys, but we still kind of need him in the bullpen as he does have good command and his pitch mix is completely serviceable. Just hoping for an improvement I guess.

Clem Labine, 36, (3.43 ERA, 3.31 FIP in 58 appearances) - Labine and Herbel were the two only real reliable options in the bullpen last year and Labine definitely has some talent. He’s been consistently good at preventing runs for years now and did help this team not fall even further down to the bottom. He is 36 and a decline could hit here, but our scouts still like him and he seems to be the best of a real bad bunch to get the final outs.

Yeah this bullpen is a disaster, only Labine and Herbel are proven commodities and while Kelley has loads of talent, I can’t expect him to be great right out of the gate either. A fun storyline this season will be which fails me more, the rotation or the bullpen. I would bet on the bullpen at this point but both are very flawed.

After this roster recap, we can now get to some actual baseball! The Mets start the season at home in the Polo Grounds for two games against the St. Louis Cardinals, then four games out west in Milwaukee to play the Braves. I am still deciding how I want to tell the narrative of the season, but I will definitely do a deep dive into this first week of 1963. Let’s Go Mets!