Terry Collins on Jacob deGrom and the All-Star Game

Joe Giglio of nj.com reports that Terry Collins’s reasoning for not including Jacob deGrom on the NL All-Star team was to give the 28-year-old right-hander extra days of rest. deGrom rewarded his manager and team for their decison-making yesterday by twirling arguably the best game of his career, a one-hit shutout. He averaged 93.6 MPH on his fastball, just above his season average, and finished the game with a tailing 95 MPH heater to fan the pesky Odubel Herrera.

Extra rest aside, deGrom has pitched well enough in 2016 to deserve an All-Star spot if awarded it. Despite diminished velocity leading to fewer strikeouts and a 5-4 record in the first half, deGrom racked up 4.14 strikeouts for each walk and maintained a FIP of 3.23. Throwing a one-hit shutout can only improve a pitcher’s numbers, and deGrom currently ranks 11th in the NL among starting pitchers in fWAR with 2.4. His ERA of 2.38 ranks third in the senior circuit, behind left-handers Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner.

Collins’s decision to give deGrom extra rest did not happen in a vacuum, as deGrom has a history of performing well when given extra rest. In late 2015, the Mets rested deGrom heavily in September. After his September 15 start, deGrom did not again take the hill until the 27th, when he held the Reds to one run in six innings with nine strikeouts. deGrom then sat six days until the season finale on October 4, when he threw four hitless innings against the Nationals. deGrom then sat four more days before his dominant 13-strikeout postseason debut against the Dodgers. A mixture of rest and adrenaline combined to arm deGrom with a 96.7 MPH fastball and 90 MPH slider during that remarkable game in Los Angeles, per BrooksBaseball.