Marcus Stroman reintroduced himself to Mets fans in Tuesday's spring training debut after opting out of the 2020 season, and he brought a filthy new pitch with him.
Armed with his new changeup, Stroman mowed down Astros hitters and retired all six batters he faced, giving the 29-year-old plenty of confidence after last pitching in game action on Sept. 27, 2019.
"My s--t moves a lot," Stroman said after picking up two strikeouts in Tuesday's outing. "I have so many weapons man. My stuff doesn't move like the normal stuff. Between my cutter, my sinker, my changeup, my slider... My stuff's nasty and I'm gonna go out there and deal all year."
Stroman was particularly pleased with the changeup, which he believes will be crucial to his success in 2021, his first full season in a Mets uniform.
"It can feel filthy, it can feel nasty, it can feel like the best pitch ever," Stroman said of his new weapon. "But until you actually get out there and throw it in a game and see how hitters react to it, I feel like you can't actually consider that pitch a weapon until you do so. That's why after throwing it today, I feel like it's a weapon. It's the first time I've used it against hitters, and I had really good success."
Stroman threw 59.2 innings with the Mets in 2019 after coming over in a trade with the Blue Jays, and posted a 3.77 ERA while averaging 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings, good for the highest rate of his career. He won't blow hitters away with his velocity like teammate Jacob deGrom, as Stroman's fastball velocity ranked in just the 34th percentile in 2019, per Statcast, but pitches like his new changeup are what he believes will make him a force this season.
"Velocity will never dictate if I am good or not," Stroman said. "My stuff is nasty."
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