VIDEO: Jacob deGrom's Impossibly Wicked Changeup is Back and That's Amazing for the Mets
By Jerry Trotta
Other than superb offensive showing of rookie phenom Pete Alonso and slasher Jeff McNeil, the New York Mets haven't had much to be happy about thus far in 2019. Jacob deGrom has been decent, but for his standards, most fans in Queens will tell you that they've been somewhat disappointed with last year's NL Cy Young. However, the right-hander showed off all the goods Tuesday evening, shutting down the Braves loaded lineup with ease. And the most telling detail of deGrom's dominance was the return of his LETHAL changeup.
Jacob deGrom averaged 92 mph with his changeup vs. the Braves and didn't allow any hard contact on it. Said afterwards this was "the best stuff" he's had all season. pic.twitter.com/5ntSsfkhF5
— Pitcher List (@PitcherList) June 19, 2019
How is that much movement on a changeup even possible? We've watched it on repeat over a dozen times and still cannot fathom it.
It's literally a picture-perfect pitch. And peep the hitter that it buckles, folks. It's three-time All-Star slugger Freddie Freeman, who just so happened to heap some praise on deGrom's behalf in the post-game presser.
Freddie Freeman: "That was Jacob deGrom to a T right there. In my opinion, he’s the best pitcher in baseball. He did it tonight again."
— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) June 19, 2019
In the grand scheme of things, deGrom finding his groove, especially with his renowned changeup, is awesome for the Metropolitans. The two-time All-Star surrendered just two runs late in his outing, struck out 10 batters, and walked zero in 8.1 innings. The club will need deGrom to continue this sort of brilliance from this point on if they have any shot at making a run to get back into the postseason.