Mets Morning News: deGrom cruises on the 101

Meet the Mets

The Mets beat the Astros 1-0 Thursday in West Palm Beach. They scored their only run on a Pete Alonso home run to left-center field.

Alonso also joined the Cookie Club to talk about how good he is at hitting baseballs.

The 2019 NL Rookie of the Year claimed no bitterness to agreeing to terms on his salary for the upcoming season.

Jacob deGrom pitched the first three innings, striking out seven of the nine batters he faced. He also reportedly hit 101 miles per hour on his fastball, which many people noted and some could not believe.

deGrom’s fastball velocity has increased steadily since he first entered the league in 2014. It’s getting so ridiculous that the two-time Cy Young winner doesn’t even know how fast he can pitch.

Super-prospect Ronny Mauricio mentioned the possibility of switching positions if the Mets were to sign Francisco Lindor to a long-term deal.

It looks like the Mets will peg Dom Smith as their primary left fielder, and he has a lot of work to do to prepare for the long season in the outfield.

Marcus Stroman shouted out Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) in a New York Times profile.

Brett Baty is smiling through his first Spring Training with the Mets.

Donovan Mitchell Sr. opened up about his son’s experience with COVID-19 and his own nerve-wracking test last March.

Around the National League East

Atlanta beat Tampa Bay 2-0 Thursday in North Port, FL. Ronald Acuña Jr. homered and executed a righteous bat flip.

The Yankees beat the Phillies 6-1 in Clearwater, FL.

The Nationals and the Marlins played to a 1-1 tie in Jupiter, FL. Patrick Corbin struck out three batters in his start, while Monte Harrison cleared the Marlins’s only run over the fence.

Around Major League Baseball

Free-agent pitcher Trevor Cahill signed with the Pirates on a $1.5 million deal.

Twins outfielder Byron Buxton got a root canal after chipping his tooth eating a steak.

MLB will experiment with potential rule changes in the minor leagues this season. These include enlargening the bases, limiting pickoff attempts, and mandating four infielders position themselves on the infield as a pitch is thrown.

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of all major American professional sports shutting down, and Emma Baccellieri recounts the last normal inning of 2020.

Yesterday at Amazin’ Avenue

Kenneth wrote about the organization’s top pitching prospect Matt Allan, while an old friend paid his respects to Harol Gonzalez.

Chris and Brian made their roster predictions on AA Audio.

We talked about the roster a little more on Locker Room.

This Date in Mets History

Mike Piazza charged the mound in a Spring Training game in 2003 after Dodgers pitcher Guillermo Mota buzzed him inside and hit him in the shoulder on consecutive pitches. A fight ensued where Jeromy Burnitz went berserk.

A very happy 60th birthday to Mets legend and Los Angeles native Daryl Strawberry!