Harvey hopes sinker raises him to Mets
Mets' prospect Matt Harvey delivers a pitch for the St. Lucie Mets. (May 21, 2011) Credit: Preston Mack
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- In preparation for his first invite to major-league camp, Matt Harvey dusted off a pitch from his college days at North Carolina, and now he's hoping that sinker will elevate him to the Mets sooner rather than later.
After getting bruised last season at Double-A Binghamton by leaving too many pitches too high in the strike zone, Harvey tried to do a little self-correcting at home in Atlanta this winter. He no longer intends to live on a high-90s fastball and knee-buckling curve. For further success -- and advancement -- Harvey realizes the need for another look.
"I think in high school and college, I got away with it a little bit, using the top half of the zone," Harvey said Thursday. "Once you get to Double-A, you really have to establish the lower half, and obviously from what they're telling me, everything above Double-A you really have to, so I figured it would be a good offseason to work on that."
Harvey, 22, the seventh overall pick in the 2010 draft, went a combined 13-5 with a 3.32 ERA in 26 starts split between Class A St. Lucie and Binghamton. He also had 156 strikeouts and walked only 47 in 1352/3 innings. But Harvey didn't recall facing any major-league players on rehab assignments, so pitching for the Mets in the Grapefruit League this year will be a step up.
"They're hitters, I'm a pitcher, and it's the same distance," Harvey said. "I just got to do what I can do and hope for the best."
The Mets, despite a severe lack of depth in the starting rotation, have no immediate plans to promote Harvey. The best-case scenario is probably September, and even that would take some convincing on Harvey's part.
"[Jenrry] Mejia certainly changed our mind in the past and there's been pitchers that have a history of changing people's minds," pitching coach Dan Warthen said. "So if he comes out there, does what he's capable of doing and keeps moving the chain, you might have to discuss it, depending on where we are, and whether we are looking at him being a starter for us in the 2013 season. We'll have that discussion, but it's all predicated on how he does during the course of the year.''
