2019 Mets draft profile: Mitch Senger

Born: Boca Raton, Florida

Age: 21 (1/13/98)

Height/Weight: 6’7”/240 lbs.

Position: LHP

Bats/Throws: L/L

School: Stetson (DeLand, Florida)

Mitch Senger attended Boca Raton Community High School and played baseball for all four years he was there. In his junior and senior years, he impressed, posting a 1.38 ERA in 2014 and a 0.88 ERA in 62.2 innings in 2015, leading to him being named to Boca Raton’s All-County and All-District teams in 2014 and 2015. He considered enrolling at Jacksonville University following his graduation, but switched to Stetson University instead.

In his first year with the Hatters, Senger posted an 8.15 ERA in 17.2 innings thrown over the course of 1 start and 13 relief appearances. He allowed 18 hits, walked 20, and struck out 13. His stuff popped up in his sophomore season, and the left-hander became Stetson’s Friday night ace. Senger posted a 2.51 ERA in 93.0 innings that year, allowing 66 hits, walking 28, and striking out 114. He pitched for the Orleans Firebirds in the Cape Cod League that summer, but was unable to keep rolling, posting a bloated 9.30 ERA in 20.1 innings, allowing 19 hits, walking 10, and striking out 19. The lefty returned to the Hatters’ bullpen in 2019 despite being a sensation in his sophomore year, and it turned out that coach Steve Trimper made the right call, as the wheels completely fell off the Senger wagon. He ended up posting a 14.68 ERA in 19.0 innings over 4 starts and 9 relief appearances, allowing 25 hits, walking 30, and striking out 25.

At 6’7”, Senger is an imposing presence on the mound. His delivery is stiff and his arm action raises red flags for possible future injuries. As a tall pitcher, he occasionally struggles to keep his top and lower halves in sync, leading to control problems, but he is generally able to repeat his release point and throw strikes. His fastball sits in the high-80s-to-low-90s, topping out at 92 MPH. While the pitch has roughly fringe-average velocity for a left-hander, it plays up because of Senger’s long arms and the angle that he creates. He is generally able to command the pitch, attacking batters from all four quadrants of the strike zone. He complements his fastball with a curveball, a slider, and a changeup. His curveball is thrown in the low-to-mid-70s and has big, loopy 12-6 break. His slider is sits in the high-70s and has slurvy break. His changeup is rarely thrown, but is mainly used against right-handed hitters.