Joey Lucchesi will make his season debut for the Mets on Wednesday after the Mets let Houser warm up to much in the bullpen on Tuesday. Honestly, right now it’s not like Houser deserves the spot over Lucchesi anyways.
Still it will likely be one spot start for Lucchesi. With Tylor Megill and David Peterson dominating in rehab assignments, it’s a log gem for the Mets rotation.
It’s not like Lucchesi hasn’t earned a spot start. In AAA Luchessi has pitched well this year with a 2.58 ERA over 7 starts, totaling 38.1 innings of work.
Even though those numbers are very good, Lucchesi is not a strikeout guy and had a fairly high WHIP at 1.30. His main plus is his ability to keep the ball in the ballpark. In AAA Luchessi has allowed just 2 homeruns, something he limited last year with the Mets too.
In 2023, Lucchesi made 9 starts for the Mets, pitching to a 2.89 ERA. Just like this year in AAA, Luchessi limited homeruns allowing just 4 homeruns over 46.2 innings of work.
Although his overall numbers were good, there is some concern with Lucchesi. In his stint last season Lucchesi allowed some hard hit contact and had a below average walk rate. That with his inability to strike hitters out, his expected slash against was high.
If you compare his expected slash to his overall slash, it was a huge difference. It resulted in a 5.44 Expected ERA, a lot higher then his overall ERA.
Still, Lucchesi is a fun lefty with a fun pitch. Nicknamed Joey Fuego, Lucchesi is known for the Churve. A combination of a Change-Up/Curve ball. It will be fun to see the Churve make his Major league Debut this season and even with the concerns, it’s well deserved for Lucchesi. Even though it’s for one start.
