Inside The Mets

Mets hurler called surprising bust candidate before 2025 season

Why is this New York Mets starting pitcher considered a bust candidate for 2025?
Grant Young|
Oct 18, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher David Peterson (23) hands the ball to New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza (64) during the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game five of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Oct 18, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets pitcher David Peterson (23) hands the ball to New York Mets manager Carlos Mendoza (64) during the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game five of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

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New York Mets

New York Mets pitcher David Peterson was a godsend for his team in 2024.

While the three Mets starting pitchers who received the most praise after expected ace Kodai Senga missed nearly the entire regular season were Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, and Jose Quintana, Peterson's 10-3 record, 2.90 ERA, and 101 strikeouts recorded during the 2024 regular season prove his immense value — especially considering he was on a one-year, $2.15 million contract.

This was unquestionably the best season of Peterson's career to date. However, he's looking to perform even better in 2025, and his ability to replicate or improve upon last season's success could become the Mets' X factor.

Of course, things could also go south for the southpaw. And Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter made that extremely clear when putting Peterson on his list of '10 Biggest Bust Candidates Among MLB Pitchers for the 2025 Season' in a February 13 article.

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In asserting why Peterson could be a bust in 2025, Reuter wrote, "A couple duds in September against the Blue Jays (4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER) and Phillies (3.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER) likely played a role in Peterson being used in relief during the first two rounds of the playoffs, and he allowed six hits and four walks in 3.2 innings as the starter in Game 5 of the NLCS.

"His 2.20 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranked 107th among 126 pitchers who logged at least 100 innings, and his batted-ball metrics ranked into the bottom third across the board. Expecting him to be more than a No. 4/5 starter in 2025 might be wishful thinking," Reuter continued.

While these specific metrics might not be on Peterson's side, the eye test from last season showed that he's a reliable arm who could be a major player in the Mets' 2025 rotation.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the New York Mets and Women’s Basketball for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco, where he also played Division 1 baseball for five years. He believes Mark Teixeira should have been a first ballot MLB Hall of Fame inductee.

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