Peterson Second In Command In Mets Rotation

David Peterson fires one in to Nick Gonzales on Satuday afternoon. Photo by Jason Schott.

 

The Mets this year have a new ace in Freddy Peralta, and they have quite the familiar face as the No. 2 starter in their rotation.

David Peterson, the left-hander who is now the Mets' longest-tenured player, started his ascent a couple years ago took it up a notch to be their most reliable starting pitcher last season.

It is a rare case of the Mets sticking with a pitcher who, when he came up in 2020, and up to when he started being a reliable presence in the rotation two seasons later, had all the makings of being a front-line starter, but just couldn't put it together.

The one obvious stat before we dive deeper is his walk total. In 2022, he surrendered 48 walks in 105 2/3 innings, while last season, he threw a career-high (by 47 2/3 innings) of 168 2/3 innings, and allowed just 65 walks. That's 63 more innings than 22, and just 17 more walks.

It also felt like when he pitched, every count was a full count, and it was pre-pitch clock as well going back to '22, whereas by last season, he was one of the most efficient pitchers going, as if the pitch clock gave him a laser focus. That might be an overlooked angle in the pitch clock debates.

Peterson's ascent began in the 2024 season, when he lowered his earned run average (ERA) to 2.90, from 5.03 the season before. He made 21 starts, in which he went 10-3, and threw 121 innings, allowing just 39 earned runs (44 overall), with only 46 walks, while striking out 101. He then became a reliable reliever in the Mets playoff run, as he did not allow a run in 6 1/3 innings in the first two rounds against Milwaukee and Philadelphia before a tougher go of it in the NLCS against the Dodgers, when he threw six innings, and allowed four earned runs (five overall) on ten hits, with five walks and five strikeouts, in six innings of work.

Last season was no question Peterson's breakout, as he made a career-high 30 starts, and he went 9-6 with a 4.22 ERA (79 earned runs in 168 2/3 innings), with 150 strikeouts and he allowed 166 hits and the aforementioned 65 walks, giving him a WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) of 1.370, well down from the 1.568 in 2023.

In 2025, Peterson also allowed just three earned runs or less in 22 of his 30 starts, with one or none earned runs allowed in 10 starts. As would be expected pitching more than he had before, he allowed four-plus earned runs in eight of his final 16 starts, after never allowing more than three in his first 14.

Peterson was their most durable pitcher last season, as he went at least seven innings in six of his 30 starts. Mets starters as a staff only did that ten times, so he was over half of that number. 

Two of his outings were at least innings, most by a Met lefty in a single season since 2014, when Jon Niese did it. The only other Met starter to throw eight innings was phenom Nolan McLean.

Peterson had 15 quality starts in 2025, one out of every two times he took the mound (30 starts), including 12 of his final 23 starts. He had a stretch of five straight quality starts from July 3 to August 1, 2025 tied for the longest stretch in his career, from the prior season, August 14 to September 3, 2024.  

Saturday against the Pirates was Peterson's debut, and he picked up where he left off, as he threw 5 1/3 shutout innings. He scattered six hits and two walks, while striking out three.

On Peterson's first pitch of the season, he got Jared Triolo to ground out to third baseman Bo Bichette. Then, his first two pitches to Ryan O'Hearn were strikes before he got him to ground one to first baseman Jorge Polanco. Lastly, he took four pitches to strike out Bryan Reynolds. He needed just eight pitches to get through the first, with seven strikes and one ball.

Peterson went through the second 1-2-3, as he got Marcell Ozuna to ground out, struck out Nick Gonzales, and got Brandon Lowe to pop up foul, and Bichette nabbed it with a sliding catch.

Nick Yorke grounded out to third to start the third, but the stretch of seven retired by Peterson ended when Joey Bart singled. Jake Mangum singled to give Pittsburgh two on base and one out, but Peterson got Triolo and O'Hearn to each fly out to center fielder Luis Robert Jr.

In the fourth, Reynolds reached on a Bichette throwing error, and then Ozuna walked. Peterson then struck out Gonzales for the seoncd time, and then got Lowe and Yorke to each ground into force outs at second base.

The fifth inning was the reverse, as Peterson got a pair of ground outs before allowing singles to Triolo and O'Hearn and a walk to Reynolds, before he got Ozuna to pop up to first base.

In the sixth, Peterson got one out, Lowe on a pop-up to second base, between singles by Gonzales and Yorke before he was lifted. 

Huascar Brazoban came on to get out of the sixth, and because Pirates starter Mitch Keller matched Peterson, the game was scoreless until extra innings, which the Mets won 4-2 on a three-run walk-off home run by Robert Jr. in the bottom of the 11th inning.