As many of you are now aware, Jonathon Niese pitched the 24th one-hitter in Mets history last night. Niese had six strikeouts during his outing and looked dominant.
Obviously, we cannot expect Niese to pitch this well every time he is on the mound. The real question is what can we expect from Niese the rest of the season?
Neise had moderate success in the majors last season in five starts. He went 1-1 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. This small sample size does not give us a lot to predict Niese’s future.
If we look at Niese’s 2008 and 2009 minor league numbers, we should have a better indicator of what to expect.
In ’08, Niese spent time in both AA and AAA. His combined stats were an 11-8 record with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Niese also was able to post a 2.48 K/BB ratio. Part of Niese’s success was tied to his ability to keep the ball in the park. He gave up 0.5 HR/9.
Jonathon spent time in AAA in ’09. He went 5-6 but posted a 3.82 ERA and a 1.283 WHIP. He once again was able to post a strong K/BB rate (3.15 K/BB), and a low home run rate (0.7 HR/9).
Niese has clearly shown that he can handle the minor leagues. At only 23 years old, he still has a lot of development ahead of him. There will definitely be some bumps along the road.
Before the season started, ZiPS projected that Niese… (click the link below to read the rest)
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