Jacob DeGrom's Unexpected Emergence Is Exactly What New York Mets Fans Need

The New York Mets and their fans have desperately needed a story like Jacob deGrom's.

In a year where the team was faced with the familiar feeling of not making the playoffs, staring in the face of a long 162 games without Matt Harvey taking the mound and a season where Curtis Granderson—who has hit under .250 every season except one since 2009—was instantly the biggest offensive threat on the roster when he left the crosstown Yankees for the seven train to Flushing, deGrom emerging as the favorite for National Year Rookie of the Year unquestionably has every Mets fan smiling despite what will end up being another sub-.500 finish. 

This is a season where Mets fans were once again sold the future.

Noah Syndergaard, an exciting power arm capable of racking up strikeouts, was turning heads in spring training. Rafael Montero, the "other" prized Mets pitching prospect, was someone fans were beginning to familiarize themselves with as a potential piece of the future. But nobody thought twice about Jacob deGrom, the 2010 ninth-round pick who had gone from A-ball to the triple-A level prior to the 2014 season getting underway.

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DeGrom arrived in the majors about six weeks into the season. The Mets had started out with an incredibly promising 15-10 record through April. The team was the subject of positive coverage for the first time in a long while. Mets fans were feeling optimistic that the future might have arrived one season sooner than expected, but the club sunk into a familiar funk just before the long-haired rookie toed the major-league slab for the first time.

DeGrom put together four successful starts to begin his major league career, including an 11-strikeout game against the division rival Philadelphia Phillies, but he had nothing to show for it except an 0-2 record. The Mets finished May a pathetic 11-18 and were already under .500. Again.

It didn't get better in June. The Mets were able to piece together an uninspiring, disappointing and weak 11-17 effort for the month. Entering the dog days of summer, deGrom began to struggle for the first real time in his major league career. He was getting hit hard by quality teams, and it was difficult for fans to know what kind of pitcher deGrom would go on to be. In all likelihood, it was a challenge for deGrom as well since he hadn't registered a win through his first seven tries.

Since those struggles subsided in late June—June 21 to be specific—deGrom has been a completely different pitcher. The date isn't just some arbitrary point in time—it marks deGrom's first major-league victory. The first mental hurdle was cleared and deGrom had a desire to keep it going. Firing seven strong shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves, the rookie began to stake his case to remain in the rotation despite having his back pressed up against the wall. 

Then, deGrom made his next two strong statements on opposite sides of the All-Star break. With seven scintillating innings in each, the first a convincing 9-1 win against those same Braves and the next a steady 3-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners, deGrom began to capture the imagination of Mets fans who quickly gravitated to both his personality and success. 

Finishing July with two more wins, deGrom had accomplished an absolutely dominant stretch of games and established himself as a legitimate piece of the Mets' uncertain future. With a 1.39 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and a 4-1 record, deGrom took home the National League Rookie of the Month award. 

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Now deGrom was officially in the spotlight. He was the 15-minute monologue that makes or break the show you've spent a weekly paycheck on to go see. It was on deGrom's frail shoulders—after being in the big leagues for less than half of one season—to be the harbinger of hope that offered a tangible glimpse into what Mets fans can expect to see of their beloved team in the near future.

And he absolutely owned it.

DeGrom has been among the elite at his position since earning his first victory, and there's no questioning his candidacy for Rookie of the Year. He's given up more than three earned runs just once since that win on June 21—the Los Angeles Dodgers tagged him for five runs on August 23 and yours truly was there to witness it—further highlighting how dominant he's been since he grabbed his rotation spot by the horns. 

Overall, deGrom's got an impressive 2.68 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 134.1 innings to pair with his 8-6 record for the season, but it's deGrom's performance since the All-Star break that is drawing rightful rave reviews. In 60.2 innings, deGrom is 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and a .198 BAA with 62 strikeouts.

As deGrom has maintained both steady growth and success, his name has emerged on the national scale. It’s not just Mets fans who are singing his praises, and in a season without a happy Harvey day, it’s been deGrom who’s unexpectedly provided the excitement that the team was missing prior to his emergence.

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"He's always flown under the radar. He still is," Mets manager Terry Collins told ESPN New York's Adam Rubin. "He keeps the ball down. He gets ground balls. Although he’s striking some guys out here because he’s learned how to do it a little bit, he keeps the ball in the ballpark. It’s really impressive to see," Collins added.

For so long, the Mets have sold fans on the future. There is great irony somewhere—not among Mets fans—about a team selling the future while still paying Bobby Bonilla—yes, that Bobby Bonilla—$1.4 million annually through the year 2035. Seriously.  

Beyond Bonilla's deferred money, the Mets have largely been an underachieving mess since the 2006 team that had Shea Stadium rocking with playoff baseball. The epic collapse of 2007 doesn’t need to be revisited, and the Mets haven’t sniffed a real chance at the postseason since.

Since David Wright came up to the big-leagues, he's only seen the team around him—his team—decline in both quality and performance. Now 31 and turning 32 in December, Wright is the captain of a ship attempting to steer its course back in the right direction. He's struggled with injuries over the last couple of seasons and has shown some potential concerning signs, most notably his decline in power. Since 2009, Wright has eclipsed the 20-homer plateau just twice and the 100-RBI plateau just once. This is the same player the Mets have signed for $138 million through 2020. 

With Granderson owed another $45 million over the course of the next three seasons, the Mets are going to have to be both selective and correct with the roster upgrades that are made. That’s a difficult task for General Manager Sandy Alderson, especially if he’s working with the same payroll the Mets dished out in 2014, but fortunately for fans, Alderson has proven capable of making some very good decisions when it comes to executing trades. 

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Because of their limited spending power as well as the wealth of depth the Mets have built at the starting pitching spot, Alderson and his front office are well-positioned to make a move to address at least one area of need. This is where deGrom comes back into play in more ways than one. Not only can he be counted on to contribute to the front end of the Mets staff next season, but his performance allows for greater flexibility in the team’s desire to upgrade the offensive firepower—something that has been desperately needed for too long.

Blossoming at the major-league level should also serve as a reminder to both Mets fans and the organization: Time is the one thing that can’t brought back or restored. Once the season is over, it’s over, and soon enough, it’s already about to be Wright’s age-32 season just like that.

Mets fans are some of the most passionate sports fans—not just baseball fans—I’ve ever met. In rough times, we relive the past to get through the present. The 1986 World Series team is still celebrated in 2014, and the Mets haven’t produced an impact offensive prospect since Daniel Murphy unexpectedly emerged as a multi-dimensional weapon seemingly out of nowhere.

This is where, again, the Mets have sold the future while asking fans to live through the present. Brandon Nimmo, drafted at 18 years old as a raw outfield prospect and one pick ahead of Marlins’ ace Jose Fernandez in 2011, has become a legitimate bat to watch who should open next season at the Triple-A level.

Michael Conforto, the team’s first-round pick (10th overall) in the 2014 draft, is expected to move through the system quickly and be at Citi Field as soon as the end of 2015. We’ve gotten a glimpse of Dilson Herrera at just 20 years old, but there’s no George Springer, Byron Buxton, Jorge Soler or anyone of the like on the way from Las Vegas. This team needs at least one impact bat, and many would say a second should also be on the to-do list.

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The Mets will enter 2015 with eight straight seasons without a playoff berth and their sixth straight losing campaign. Time is of the essence for the Mets to build a winner if the team plans on giving its captain another opportunity to compete for anything in October.

However, this isn't just another losing Mets season. Just like Harvey's breakout inspired Mets fans, deGrom has had a similar impact. He wasn't touted like Harvey, Syndergaard or even Zack Wheeler, but he's given the Mets a pulse that the club didn't have before. He's not the last piece to the puzzle—but he is that one piece that you've been searching for forever that seemingly wasn't included in the box with 10,000 pieces. 

The Rookie of the Year Award can be a throwaway designation to some, but in this season, for this player, for this team and its fans, deGrom coming out victorious would signal a tangible sign of progress at the major-league level.

The last three words are key: The minor league system has improved steadily over the last several seasons, but the major league product has suffered while the former was being built.

Now, the Mets have a farm system full of assets as well as potential pieces for the future, and with a strong, youthful starting rotation projected to be in place, it's time to address the obvious elephant in the room—the offense. 

The blossoming of Jacob deGrom gives the Mets options New York previously didn't have. Every start has become must-see TV. 

I've rooted for the New York Mets since before I cracked the 25-man fan roster. My father has been a fan since 1962—literally since Day 1.

Every season is a chapter in the book, another year filled with memories, questions and what-if scenarios about what could have been.

In 2014, Mets fans haven't had a lot to cheer about. 

It wasn't the first-round pick. It wasn't the free-agent addition. Instead, it was a light-hitting shortstop turned pitcher who has given the Mets' transitional season meaning. 

Ya gotta believe. Otherwise, a story like deGrom's wouldn't be possible to tell.