MarcusStroman

News: 4 days agoStroman (undisclosed) was on the field for the Mets' full-squad workout Sunday, Justin Toscano of The Bergen Record reports.

Spin: Stroman wasn't spotted Friday when the Mets opened their summer camp, but his presence Sunday suggests his earlier absence wasn't anything too concerning. With Noah Syndergaard (elbow) having undergone season-ending Tommy John surgery during MLB's hiatus, the Mets will be forced to rely more heavily on Stroman to anchor to top half of the rotation alongside ace Jacob deGrom.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: After posting a 2.96 ERA and earning a berth on the American League All-Star team with Toronto, Stroman was traded to the Mets in late July. His ERA jumped to 3.77 with New York, but his 3.84 xFIP was an improvement over the 4.06 mark he notched with the Blue Jays. Stroman's strikeout rate improved considerably with the Mets -- from 19.3% to 23.0% -- though that coincided with a two-percentage-point jump in his walk rate. In addition, the right-hander's groundball rate (48.3%) plummeted while his HR/9 (1.21) skyrocketed with New York. That's uncharacteristic for Stroman, long one of baseball's most groundball-extreme hurlers. Expect a regression to the mean in 2020, opening the door for some viability as a back-end fantasy starter, especially if Stroman can continue kicking up his strikeout numbers.