The New York Mets need some good pitching if they hope for an excellent end to the 2024 season. Shintaro Fujinami may help with that if he’s eventually called up. However, Fujinami has not done well in Triple-A by and large. His lack of control of the strike zone led to his inability to join the Opening Day roster. However, the Mets may need him to join the big leagues eventually. On Saturday, Fujinami was able to put together a nice outing.
Shintaro Fujinami was incredible yesterday, tossing 2.0 perfect innings while striking out 5
The typically wild righty locked it down yesterday, generating 8 whiffs on just 23 pitches. His splitter was electric, returning a gaudy 80.0 Whiff% pic.twitter.com/bzDihXefEV
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) August 18, 2024
Shintaro Fujinami May Be a Late-Season Option for Mets
Fujinami had previously 27 walks and just 23 strikeouts. However, he was among Saturday’s only good notes for the Syracuse Mets. He struck out five and walked none in two innings of work, a performance that deserves recognition. Fujinami was expected to make the Opening Day roster for the Mets. However, given his difficulties throwing strikes and limiting walks, he ultimately stayed in Syracuse.
For Fujinami, last season’s ERA of 7.18 and poor control of the strike zone have led to New York’s caution in using him. This season in Syracuse, Fujinami has also struggled with his ERA, which is still a high 6.85. The ability of Fujinami to throw triple digits may be valuable for New York. This may be a reason to call him up. His high walk rate means he likely won’t be starting a game for New York, but using him in relief is not out of the question.
For Fujinami to be called up, he has to continue showing potential control of the zone and of the scoreboard. There may be a contest of who joins New York, however. Fireballing Brandon Sproat, who is now New York’s top prospect, has also been considered for promotion recently. Shintaro Fujinami’s recent performance may lead to him joining the Mets as the regular season nears its end, especially if the team feels it needs his velocity in the bullpen.
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