Why Kodai Senga’s early showings should have the Mets sweating

Kodai Senga came over to the New York Mets with tons of hype and hoopla, but his early season control has been all over the place. Can he right the ship with more MLB experience? 

At first glance, you might feel pretty good about Kodai Senga’s introduction to MLB: He has a 3-0 record, with 25 strikeouts in 21 innings of work.

Not too shabby for a rookie, right?

But if you’ve been watching his starts for the New York Mets, and you dig a little deeper into his stats, you’re aware of the reality of the situation: Senga simply can’t find the plate. His control and command are both way off the mark.

Senga is currently fifth in MLB in walks, with 14 in just four starts. He’s in some bad company, too — Ryan Feltner of the Rockies also has 14 walks. Feltner currently has a laughable 6.16 ERA, after a terrible 5.83 ERA in 2022.

Kansas City’s Brad Keller is right there also, with 13 walks. This is a fellow right-handed starter who had an ERA over 5.00 in both of his past two seasons.

The point is obvious, and we all know the deal — when you walk too many hitters at the Major League level, you end up in bad company. And the alarming part is Senga’s walks have actually gone up in his past two starts; he had three walks in each of his first two starts, followed by four walks in both of his last two.

Kodai Senga also struggled with control in the preseason — what is going on here?

Is it the baseballs themselves? Are they substantially different from the standard Japanese baseballs? Is it the language barrier in communicating with his teammates and catchers? Is it the sheer pressure of coming over to MLB, specifically under the bright lights with the Mets?

Actually, Senga admitted to being extremely nervous in his first MLB start. Now, as human beings, we can all understand that. First game in the bigs, all eyes on you — totally understandable.

But what if I told you it appears those nerves haven’t disappeared?

Senga has shown zero improvement in both his command and control, and he throws far too many “non-MLB” pitches, as I refer to them. “Non-MLB” pitches are the two extremes: Either way out of the strike zone, or right down the middle of the plate. Major League-level starting pitchers are more refined than that; they showcase command of multiple pitches and they hit the corners.

Right now, it’s very clear that Senga is just trying to find his way. He’s feeling around in the dark out there, just trying to see what works.

On a brighter note, Senga is definitely a battler. Even when things aren’t working the way he wants out there, he toughs it out and grinds through. Being a true competitor is always a good trait for a professional pitcher.

All things considered, can Senga work through these command and control issues?

Sure he can — it’s very early in his MLB career. However, for now, he looks like an SP4 or 5 to me.