Steve Trachsel

Trachsel, the pitching version of Mike Hargrove, "the Human Rain Delay" on the hill, is not exciting on the mound, but he once again found a way to lead the Mets in victories for the second time in his five years with the team. Despite winning 15 games, his 1:1 K:BB ratio and 1.597 WHIP do not bode well for his future, which is expected to take place outside New York. Trachsel's win total was largely due to the offense behind him, evidenced by his 4.97 ERA and .288 batting average against with his ERA in each month never below four. He was quickly signed by the Orioles after Kris Benson went down due to injury, but a stint in batter-friendly Camden Yards in the hard-hitting AL East won’t help his ratios.

Trachsel, who the Mets had penciled in as their No. 3 starter, missed the majority of last season recovering from March surgery to repair a herniated disc. Following his return in August, he struggled like he did in 2004. Trachsel reportedly added a slider last offseason, which he will need to augment his fastball-curveball repertoire. There are strong rumors that the Mets want to move him and there has been some interest, since he's extremely affordable. If Trachsel does remain in New York, he'll be a fourth or fifth starter.

Trachsel was not as consistent in 2004 as he was in years past, alternating bad months and good months to finish below .500 for the first time since 2001. As is the norm for him, he was dominant at home (9-6 with a 3.06 ERA) while struggling on the road (3-7 with a 5.63 ERA). He struggled with pitches 1–15 and 45–60, while dominating in all other 15-pitch brackets and actually got stronger as he threw more. He has learned how to pitch as he's gotten older and should have another solid year.

For the second consecutive season, Trachsel was the Mets' most consistent starter and finished 2003 with a career-high 16 wins. Trachsel grew stronger as the year continued, going 12-6 with a 3.09 ERA from June 15 till the end of the season. Trachsel isn't overpowering but gets by on guile. He surprisingly had a better record on the road, 10-1, than he did at home, 6-9.

Trachsel pitched exactly 173.2 IP in 2001 and 2002, ended up with 11 wins in both seasons, and saw his ERA drop by a little more than a full point, even though his K/BB ratio dropped in half. So where did the improvement in his ERA come from? One, he conquered an acute case of gopheritis, giving up just 16 homers after allowing 28 the previous year. Two, of the 80 runs he allowed, 15 were unearned – in 2001, he allowed just four unearned runs. Both trends bode ill for 2003 – Trachsel's career HR-allowed rate runs closer to his 2001 numbers than his 2002 numbers, and the unearned runs can quickly become earned with the brush of an official scorer's pen.