David Peterson was the New York Mets‘ most consistent starter in 2025 but has struggled mightily his past two starts.
Still, manager Carlos Mendoza is not ready to bail on the lefty and make a rotational shift even after Peterson fell to 0-2 in the Mets’ 7-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday at Citi Field.
The Mets are 1-2 in Peterson’s three starts, and the lefty hasn’t given them much of a chance to win the past two outings. Still, New York (7-5) is just a half-game back of the Atlanta Braves for the NL East lead through 12 games.
Carlos Mendoza is Not Considering a Change in the Mets’ Rotation
Peterson went 9-6 with a 4.22 ERA in 30 starts over a team-high 168 2/3 innings in 2025. He started this year strong by throwing 5 1/3 scoreless innings in New York’s extra-inning win in its second game of the season against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
But Peterson has struggled since. He has given up 15 hits and 11 earned runs and has six walks in his three outings. But Mendoza balked when asked if a rotation move was in order.
âAs Iâm sitting here right now, no,â Mendoza said.
Peterson has struggled with his three pitches, his sinker, changeup and curveball. So far, Peterson is giving up a batting average of .500+ on his sinker (.563) and curveball (.556), and batters are hitting .333 against his off-speed pitch.
It hasn’t been lucky contact either, since hitters are slugging .625 off his sinker and .667 off the curve. All that has led to a 6.14 ERA and 1.84 WHIP through 14 2/3 innings.
âWhen heâs going well, the two-seam comes in, the slider down and in to righties,” Mendoza said. “Right now, heâs having a hard time.â
David Peterson Feels He Has Relied on his Changeup and Sinker Too Much
Peterson has thrown his sinker the most of any pitch (27%) this season and is throwing his changeup the third-most (20%) of his five pitches.
So the fact he is struggling with each is a major factor, and he wants to get back to throwing his fastball more.
âI donât think Iâve had a problem executing the pitch,â Peterson said. âI donât think weâve gone there enough. I think weâve relied on the sinker and change-up too much and allowed hitters to sit over the plate. In my eyes, itâs more about usage than it is execution.â
For all his issues with his changeup, sinker and curveball, his fastball has been an effective pitch. Opposing hitters are slashing .182/.250/.364 against his four-seam fastball, which he has thrown 58 times this season, the second-most of any pitch.
Still, it’s natural for catcher Francisco Alvarez to shy away from the pitch, given Peterson’s struggles with the four-seamer a year ago. He threw that pitch second most of any and gave up the highest OPS (.849) on his four-seamer of any he threw in 2025.
But it may be wise for Peterson to attack the Los Angeles Dodgers with a steady diet of fastballs and sliders in his next outing. Though he he has only thrown his slider 34 times, Peterson has allowed a .144 OPS and is getting a 33.3% strikeout rate on that pitch.
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