Noah Syndergaard is a human cheat code and these pitches are the proof

Noah Syndergaard was throwing unhittable pitch after unhittable pitch on Sunday afternoon, and most of them appeared to defy the laws of physics.

In his first four games last season before a torn muscle (because apparently, it is possible for a pitcher to bulk up too much in a single offseason), Noah Syndergaard looked all but unhittable. In 26 innings before the injury bug bit, the massive right-hander had struck out 30 without allowing a single walk or home run.

Fully healthy, it’s been more of the same through four starts for Syndergaard in 2018.

The man they call Thor had everything working on Sunday afternoon against the high-powered Milwaukee Brewers offense. In 5.1 innings, Syndergaard struck out 11, including eight in a row at one point. He left after throwing 101 pitches and did not allow an earned run while surrendering only two hits.

Through four starts, Syndergaard is 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA and has struck out 33 in 21.1 innings while walking only five hitters. The New York Mets would like to see a little more pitch efficiency for their ace, but there isn’t much he can do to induce early-count contact if hitters simply cannot put the ball in play.

It’s easy to see why Syndergaard has been piling up the strikeouts so far in 2018.

Pitches thrown at 97 mph are not supposed to move like that, especially when the wind is not at hurricane levels.

They aren’t supposed to move like this either. The reaction by Eric Thames in the batter’s box pretty much says it all.

https://twitter.com/MLB/status/985588137782001664

And of course, if any of the Brewers hitters though they had Syndergaard’s heater timed up, he can always flip up a disappearing changeup at 87 mph.

It appears as though Noah Syndergaard has finally discovered how to throw the mythical gyroball that was touted when Japanese sensation Daisuke Matsuzaka came over to the Boston Red Sox. These sinkers move like rarely-thrown screwballs but come in at nearly 100 mph. The raw velocity is not what makes Syndergaard impossible to hit.

It’s the dramatic late movement that just renders hitters absolutely helpless. At this point, the best-case scenario for most at-bats is hoping for a walk or a wild pitch on strike three and a mad dash for first base.

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Everything is coming up Mets right now. Syndergaard, Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Zach Wheeler and Steven Matz are all healthy and dealing. They are the class of the National League at 12-2 thanks to a walk-off homer from Wilmer Flores and have weapons on weapons in the bullpen with Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo sliding out of the rotation into new roles. Of all the good things going for the Mets right now, however, the best is Syndergaard’s early nastiness.