Update (4:44 PM EDT): Harvey told the Mets he wants to pitch, so he’s going to pitch on Tuesday, Newsday’s Marc Carig reports.
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Mets starter Matt Harvey was trounced in Thursday night’s start against the Nationals, yielding nine runs (six earned) on eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. As he walked to the dugout after being taken out of the game by manager Terry Collins, the home crowd at Citi Field booed him.
Harvey, who became the face of the new and improved Mets and helped the team to the World Series last year, currently sits with a 5.77 ERA in nine starts. Collins is considering skipping Harvey’s next turn in the rotation, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports. He would face the Nationals once again next Tuesday.
Harvey is two and a half years removed from Tommy John surgery, but there is some worry that his elbow could be the culprit. This chart from Brooks Baseball shows that Harvey has lost a significant amount of velocity on his pitches:
FanGraphs lists Harvey’s fastball averaging 94 MPH, down from 95.9 MPH last year. His slider has dropped from 89.7 MPH to 87.9 MPH, his curve 83.9 to 81.9, and his change-up 88.4 to 86.4. Velocity doesn’t necessarily portend injury, but it at least supplements the concern many have over Harvey’s awful start to the 2016 season.