Why The Mets Aren't Surprised By Drew Smith's Emergence Out Of The Bullpen

Find out why the Mets aren't surprised by Drew Smith's emergence out of the bullpen.

Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK -- For Drew Smith, his early-season emergence out of the Mets' bullpen isn't surprising to those around the team.

Smith has gotten off to a strong start, and has quickly become one of the Mets' most reliable relievers thus far. The righty has tossed 6.2 scoreless innings, while striking out seven batters to begin his 2022 campaign.

Smith, who the Mets acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for first baseman Lucas Duda at the 2017 trade deadline, is performing like the pitcher that the organization felt he would be able to develop into. And the key for him has been his health.

“He’s been fun to watch," manager Buck Showalter said prior to the Mets' series finale with the San Francisco Giants at Citi Field on Thursday. "The big thing is, knock on wood, he has been healthy. 

"I don’t think people that have been around him and know him have been surprised by the success he has had. It’s just trying to keep him healthy."

Smith pitched well in his first full season in the major leagues in 2021, posting a 2.40 ERA across 41.1 innings. But right shoulder inflammation prematurely ended his campaign in mid-August. As a result, the Mets are being conscious of how they use the righty this season. 

"That’s why we’ve been so careful about getting him up once, getting him in the game, getting him out and not Yo-Yoing him around," Showalter said. "That’s what really makes relief pitchers. He’s been able to fend for himself against left-handed hitters too, especially with the changeup."

Showalter cited Smith's changeup, which he is throwing at an increased rate of 7.1 % (4.6% in 2021 to 11.7% in 2022, per Baseball Savant) and has held left-handed batters hitless in 11 attempts this year, as a key factor to his success. 

Coincidentally, Smith has been on Showalter's radar long before the skipper was hired by the Mets back in December. Dating all the way back to Smith's sophomore season at Dallas Baptist University in 2014, Showalter's son, who traveled out to the school on a scouting trip at the time, came back to tell his Dad how impressive the righty looked. Fast forward eight years later and that young talented hurler is now a key arm in Showalter's bullpen. 

From Smith's perspective, he feels like his increased fastball velocity (95.5 mph average up from 95 mph in 2021) has helped him significantly. For the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery during spring training of 2019, Smith believes he is back to his old self on the mound. 

“The added velocity has definitely helped," Smith told Inside the Mets prior to the Mets' 6-2 win over the Giants. "I think I’m close to my pre-Tommy John velocity. 

"I know the last two years I’ve been a little bit down in terms of velocity. From what I’ve heard from guys who’ve had TJ, sometimes it takes about three full years to regain full velocity, which is where I’m at now.”

Drew Smith is averaging 25% more rise on his 4-seam fastball this season than similar MLB 4-seamers at his velocity.

That's the best percentage among qualified pitchers.@DrewBU3 @Metsmerized #Mets #LGM pic.twitter.com/qBmMK7upxD

— Mathew Brownstein (@MBrownstein89) April 17, 2022

Smith also credits the effectiveness of his changeup, as well as his newly developed slider for his strong start in 2022. He threw his cutter 31.7% of the time last year, the second-highest rate of any pitch in his arsenal. But he felt that his cutter was too flat, so with the same grip, he was able to transform this pitch into a slider. 

“It’s the same pitch," Smith said. "I threw a cutter last year and towards the end of the year I kind’ve tried to make it more into a slider because I felt like the damage I gave up, the homers especially, were on cutters that just stayed flat. 

"So I wanted something with a little more depth. I started working on it at the end of last year and then in the offseason I tried to change the shape of it. It’s the same grip still, but It’s kind’ve weird because It’s about a five-mph difference. But I just throw it a little bigger and try to make more depth with it.”

Per Baseball Savant, Smith has thrown his slider 28.7% of the time this year (second-highest rate behind his four-seam fastball), and has held opposing hitters to a 0.091 batting average in 11 at-bats on 27 total pitches. As the righty acknowledged, his slider is averaging 84.7 mph, which is 3.2 mph less than his cutter velocity (87.9 mph in 2021). 

When Smith first arrived to the big-leagues in June of 2018, he described himself as a "thrower" who still needed to learn how to pitch. Luckily, he had veteran reliever Seth Lugo to lean on for advice. 

"He has been around the whole time since I arrived in 2018," Smith said of Lugo. "I’d like to think we have similar pitch profiles. We’re both relievers with multiple pitches. Most relief pitchers have two or maybe three pitches, he has five and I have four. 

"I’ve learned a lot about the pitching aspect from him. When I first came up, I was just a thrower. I think I threw 70% fastballs, so I’ve just been picking his brain. He has really helped me a lot in terms of just how to pitch.”

In the end, Smith is thriving so far in his fourth season in the major leagues. But It's not a surprise; the key to the talented young righty's sustained success will rely on health. And the Mets will hope to be able to continue leaning on him as one of the top contributors in their bullpen this season. 

“I’m pleased with where I’m at," he said. "I'd like to take back the couple walks I’ve had. I hate walking guys. But so far, so good. The biggest part is to stay healthy all year because I know if I’m healthy I’ll be okay.”

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