Prospect Profile: Matt Harvey

One of the hot topics for Mets fans this Spring Training has been which pitching prospect is better, Matt Harvey, or Zack Wheeler?

Today I will do my first prospect profile on 2010 1st rounder, Matt Harvey.

Harvey is a 6’4 righty who throws four pitches, a low 90s fastball that can hit 96, a slider, a curve, and a change-up. Harvey is a very polished pitcher, which is evident by his ability to throw all four of his pitches for strikes when necessary. He has a clean delivery that he can repeat with ease.

Toby Hyde of Metsminorleagueblog.com ranked Harvey as his number one Mets prospect, saying:

The son of a hitting coach, Harvey has a full four-pitch arsenal with a slider, curve and changeup to complement his plus fastball. His heater sits in the low-mid 90s, and can touch 96 or 97. In the offseason after the 2011 season, he worked to add a two-seam fastball/sinker to his arsenal.

Harvey lit up the Florida State League early last season, posting an 8-2 record with a ludicrous 10.89 K/9, and a 2.66 FIP. The Mets deemed that he had done enough to earn a promotion to the Mets Double-A affiliate in the Eastern League, where he put up   a 3.23 FIP.

One key for Harvey is going to be continuing to develop the 2-seam sinker he has been working on, as that will give him a pitch he can go to when he needs a double-play, or a ground ball to keep a runner on third with less than two outs.

He should start the season at Double-A, but could be in Buffalo by June. If that is the case, we could see him pitching in Citi by August or September, being the first glimmer of hope that we have for the future.

His ceiling is a true number one starter, who could anchor the Mets’ rotation for years to come, with his floor being a Mike Pelfrey type innings eater.

And now your Youtube video for this prospect, comes via mdeeeez:

And I will try to add a poll to the end of every post from now on, to help gauge reader opinion on every matter that I post on.