RADIO
Matt Harvey Unlikely To Bounce Back
7 years agoIn the latest chapter of the “Can Matt Harvey Bounceback?” book, the signs seem to be pointing towards an unhappy ending. In 2017, Harvey’s first season back from surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, he stumbled his way to a league-worst 6.70 ERA and 1.69 WHIP across 92.2 innings pitched, with a very low 6.51 strikeouts per nine innings. All of this, with career-lows in fastball, changeup, slider, and curveball velocity. All reports indicated that Harvey would not regain his velocity of old for awhile after surgery, with the possibility of never getting back to that level at all. It’s clear that Harvey’s control isn’t yet at a point where he can succeed with diminished velocity; questions remain if it ever will be. Given the cheap price he’s going to go for in drafts this year, he may be worth a flier in deep leagues in the event his velocity does creep back up and/or he demonstrates better control. But from what we’ve seen, there’s probably not a strong chance of either occurring. It’s been a tragic story for the former Dark Knight of Gotham.
