Jon Niese

By request I am writing an article about Jonathan Niese, Mets prospect who shut out the Braves for 8 innings on Saturday, due to a request for it. I like to honor the requests of my readers (all 3 of you).

Jonathan Niese is a lefty starting pitcher drafted by the Mets in the 7th round of the 2005 draft. He is a tall guy standing at 6-3 and weighing in at around 190 lbs. Niese is 21 years old and was born on October 27th 1986 in Ohio. Here are Niese's minor league stats for the Mets:

Season	Team	ERA	G	IP	H	HR	K	K/9	BB/9	K/BB	HR/9	AVG	WHIP	BABIP
2006	Mets (A)	3.93	25	123.2	121	7	132	9.61	4.51	2.13	0.51	0.258	1.48	0.345
2006	Mets (A+)	4.5	2	10	8	0	10	9	4.5	2	0	0.221	1.3	0.305
2007	Mets (A+)	4.29	27	134.1	151	9	110	7.37	2.08	3.55	0.6	0.285	1.35	0.346
2008	Mets (AA)	3.04	22	124.1	118	5	112	8.11	3.18	2.55	0.36	0.252	1.3	0.321
2008	Mets (AAA)	3.4	7	39.2	34	4	32	7.26	3.18	2.29	0.91	0.233	1.21	0.273

Jon Niese's Arsenal: Niese has an average fastball which tops out at about 93MPH. Considering his young age, 21, it is a possibility that as he grows he will add a few MPHs on his fastball. One of Niese's problems is keeping his velocity consistent late in the game. This is also something that should come along with work and growth. Niese also has a change up which he improved this year by learning to throw it with the same arm speed as his fastball. The change up has some sinking action and is sometimes percieved as a splitter. The change up usually clocks in in the high 70's/low 80's. This year Niese added a cutter to use against righties which sits in the high 80's in terms of velocity. This is a big reason why Niese has been able to have so much success this year because last year he was hit much harder by righties than lefties. Niese's best pitch is his 12-6 curveball which sits in the mid 70's. This is his out-pitch and is very good when he can locate it.

Niese's ceiling is probably a Major League #2/3 starter. He got roughed up in his first start against the Brewers giving up 7 H, 4 BB, and 5 ER, in only 3 innings. He looked very nervous and anxious which is reasonable considering he is 21 years old and pitching his first game of his major league career against a playoff contender in the Brewers and for a playoff contender in the Mets. However in his second start he was phenomenal against the Braves. He gave up 7H, 1 BB, 0ER, and 7K in 8 shutout innings. Despite this very good performance I do not think that he is ready to start the year next year in the major league rotation. I think the Mets should go out and sign 2 SPs but I'll do an offseason post later on. Niese has good potential and is the Mets best pitching prospect at this time and can help them out during these last few weeks of the season.