The deGrom Weekly Update: Week of March 20th

Introduction: Welcome back, as I hope you all are doing well! For those of you who are new to my blog and are reading my articles for the first few times, first of all welcome, I really appreciate you taking the time to read my posts! Second of all, I created this series on Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom last year, as I am planning on continuing it this season.

My overall goal of the series is to write on Jacob deGrom each week, preview his start or starts for the given week, give a brief summary on his opponent and team he will be facing, recap his performances, and of course have fun while doing it. Rarely do I ever dedicate a series to just one player, but Jacob deGrom is an exception, because he is the greatest pitcher that I have ever seen throw a baseball.

The following is my first post of "The deGrom Weekly Update" for the 2022 season, as I hope you all enjoy reading my article!

When I scan the projected starting pitchers during Spring Training, I rarely will get excited. Last week though was different, as I saw that Jacob deGrom was going to be starting on Tuesday, March 22nd at 5:10 PM CT against the Houston Astros.

My immediate reaction was overwhelming joy as I saw that the best pitcher in today's game, Jacob deGrom, would be going up against Jake Odorizzi, who has found most of his success with the Minnesota Twins several years earlier. Usually, I will not watch much of a Spring Training game, but with deGrom on the mound, personally it is must-see TV.

As I have mentioned before, the night before deGrom pitches, I often call it "deGrom Eve" and the day he pitches is then called "deGrom Day". Tuesday was the first "deGrom Day" of the year, as I was really excited to see him pitch again!

The deGrom Weekly Update: Spring Training Edition

With the sun in his eyes as he received the ball from third baseman Eduardo Escobar after his warmup tosses, Jacob deGrom settled in on the mound to face leadoff hitter Chas McCormick at Clover Park. A four pitch at-bat that consisted of 4-seam fastballs in the upper 90's was all that was needed for Jake to record his first strikeout of the spring.

Niko Goodrum, the former Tigers infielder was next to the plate to face deGrom. Like his teammate McCormick, Goodrum looked silly swinging at a slider that ended up near the dirt for a strikeout.

The biggest test of deGrom's outing was when Kyle Tucker came to the plate with two outs in the top of the first. Tucker is a future all-star in his own right, as he has a bright future ahead of him. For those of you who have watched Jacob deGrom before likely knows what happens next. After two check swings, deGrom was able to retire Tucker on a 92 MPH slider to end his first inning of work. All three Houston batters went down in order in a 14 pitch opening frame. With the whole New York dugout focused on Jake, everyone erupted in unison as he began his iconic walk back to the home dugout.

As the second inning began in a scoreless game, Lewis Brinson, the former Marlins outfielder stepped to the plate. Brinson was able to line a ball to left-field for a double as deGrom left a fastball up in the zone that ended up getting too much of the plate. Tomas Nido, the Mets catcher looked frustrated, as he was wanting the ball a bit more down.

Have no fear as Jake responded with a strikeout of Jason Castro. A lazy pop out to first baseman Pete Alonso quickly retired third baseman Joe Perez. With Goodrum still on second base, Jake's final task of the day came in the form of Taylor Jones. deGrom was able to whip out his changeup for his fifth and final strikeout of the day, making Jones look up at the scoreboard at the end of the second.

Jacob deGrom's Final Stat Line: 2 IP, 1 H, 5 SO, 0 BB, 31 Pitches

As the bottom of the second began, Jake was seen chatting with Max Scherzer in the dugout, indicating that deGrom's spring debut had come to an end.

Final Thoughts: I could not be more thrilled with Jake's start. As you might have guessed, I was cheering and applauding the whole two innings as I wore my deGrom shirt in support from my basement.

Of course, I look forward to writing about Jacob deGrom all season long, as I hope you all enjoyed reading my first of many deGrom updates this season!

See you at the Ballpark!!!

Adam