Mets prospect Harvey aggressive on mound
Mets prospect Matt Harvey, then with North Carolina, delivers against Fresno State in the first inning of an NCAA College World Series baseball game, in Omaha, Neb. (June 21, 2008) Credit: AP
TRENTON, N.J. -- Matt Harvey is not a patient pitcher.
The Mets prospect controls the tempo on the mound, working quickly to pound hitters with strike after strike. He deals an upper-90-mph fastball, swing-and-miss curve and biting slider. Unsatisfied with just three plus pitches, he's also developing a changeup.
But only eight starts into his Double-A career, Harvey is also frustrated to still be wearing the Binghamton uniform.
"He's got the desire, the heart," manager Wally Backman said yesterday. "He's got big-league makeup. He thinks he's supposed to be there right now, and good for him. But there's still some things he needs to work on. And it's not a long road for him."
Backman said he appreciates Harvey's aggressive attitude, and Harvey has so far used that mindset to attack his Mets minor-league career with the same allegro pace he displays on the mound -- quick, bright and fast.
After being the seventh overall pick in the 2010 amateur draft, Harvey breezed through Class A-Advanced St. Lucie, going 8-2 with a 2.37 ERA in 14 starts this year. That success helped elevate him to the No. 30 spot in Baseball America's midseason prospect rankings.
After he was promoted to Binghamton at the end of June, he initially struggled. In his first three starts, he was 0-2 with a bloated 9.24 ERA.
"He's a very focused young man," Backman said. "And he's got a big heart. He likes to win. I think he was a little bit frustrated early on because of the developmental part of it."
Said Harvey: "It's pitching. You're gonna have your good days and your bad days."
But Harvey, 22, learned to adjust to the more mature hitters and is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in several good days since. Harvey allowed three runs and six hits in five innings, striking out six and walking none in a 9-3 win against Trenton Wednesday.
"I've just got to go out and do the best I can on the field," Harvey said. "The only thing I can control is my approach and how I take the mound each day I get the ball."
Harvey was hit with a comebacker on the inside of his left knee during the second inning. But in a rare bit of good injury news for a Mets player, Harvey remained in the game.
"If you know his demeanor, he's not gonna come out," Backman said.
Backman pointed to a start on July 28 when Harvey went seven innings, allowing one run, striking out 10 and fooling batters with a curveball that drew 16 swings-and-misses.
"It's a swing-and-miss pitch in the big leagues, too," he said.
