Now could be Thomas Szapucki's chance to cement himself in Mets' future plans

Once one of the Mets' top pitching prospects, left-hander Thomas Szapucki -- who will turn 26 years old on June 12 -- no longer has that status next to his name. But that doesn't mean the chance to cement himself as part of the Mets' future has passed Szapucki by. 

And Szapucki could take the first step toward putting himself firmly in the Mets' plans when he gets the start on Wednesday against the Giants in San Francisco as New York works through things without Tylor Megill, Max Scherzer, and Jacob deGrom in their rotation. 

It's been a long road for Szapucki, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2017 in his second full professional season and missed most of that season and all of 2018. Szapucki had a strong 2019, with a 2.63 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, and 10.5 K/9 across three minor league levels, reaching as high as Double-A Binghamton.

But Szapucki and every other minor league player lost a year of development when the 2020 minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

And Szapucki's 2021 (which included a very brief taste of the majors in what was his big league debut) was rough and uneven, and ended with his having ulnar nerve transposition surgery on his elbow in July.

Ulnar nerve surgery, which pitchers often go through after Tommy John surgery, is a procedure deGrom had in June of 2017 and top Mets pitching prospect Matt Allan had in January, on the heels of his Tommy John surgery. 

Now fully healthy, Szapucki has been pitching well for Syracuse this season, with a 2.86 ERA and 1.31 WHIP to go along with 30 strikeouts in 22 innings over seven starts. That's a rate of 12.3 strikeouts per 9, not far from Szapucki's career minor league strikeout rate of 11.2 per 9.

What Szapucki might be in the majors at this point of his career is unknown.

His ceiling was once thought to be a starting pitcher who could settle in the middle of the rotation and possibly become a No. 2 starter. Maybe his ceiling at this point is more of a back of the rotation starter. But even that has immense value.

Szapucki is a fastball-curveball-changeup pitcher, and the curve is a true plus offering. But he barely threw the curve during his one taste of the majors last season, which might have been due in part to his injury.

Now that ulnar nerve surgery is behind him, it will be interesting to see how Szapucki deploys his stuff in the majors. And if Szapucki pitches well, it's fair to argue that he deserves a chance to get a look in the rotation beyond Wednesday's start.

With two slots needing to be filled right now and David Peterson expected to take one of them, the other immediate options are really Szapucki, Trevor Williams, and Adonis Medina.

Williams, who has worked mostly as the Mets' bulk inning guy out of the bullpen this season, has struggled in two of his three starts, allowing four runs on seven hits in two innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 17 and four runs on three hits (including two homers) in four innings against the Colorado Rockies this past Saturday.

In Williams' other start, he was sharp, tossing four scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on May 17.

But a case can be made that Szapucki getting a look in the rotation and Williams being the Mets' long reliever makes the most sense.

How long that potential look for Szapucki might last is unclear, and could have a lot to do with how quickly Megill returns from his biceps injury.

Megill is eligible to be activated on May 27, but that won't happen, Megill throwing yet to return to the mound. He'll need to throw bullpen sessions and eventually go on a rehab assignment.

So for Szapucki, the time could be now to not only add his name to the list of starting pitchers the Mets can rely on as they wade through this stretch without Megill, Scherzer, and deGrom, but put himself in their future plans.