Prospect Pulse: Simeon Woods-Richardson Easing Into Full-Season Ball

“He’s a treat for us,” remarked Brodie Van Wagenen. “He can really bring it.”

When the Mets trotted out Simeon Woods Richardson for one inning during their major league Spring Training game on March 24, it was less about the results and more about the high regard that the organization holds him in.

Van Wagenen, who was in the SNY booth during that inning, and his baseball operations colleagues have become so enamored with the 18-year-old’s skill set that he was sent to Low A Columbia to open the 2019 season despite only having thrown 17.1 innings in rookie ball.

Lack of experience be damned, Woods Richardson has come out of the gate firing, owning a 2.35 ERA and 11 strikeouts against no walks through his first three games. While he is still being used and developed as a starting pitcher, he has been limited to 40 pitches per outing so far.

His five strikeouts on Monday night against Rome were good for an early season high.

It was a season-high five strikeouts for Simeon Woods Richardson in three scoreless innings of work last night. #Mets

Already has taken steps forward since his first outing of the year: fastball command, limiting hard contact, urgency on the mound. pic.twitter.com/UR1ovBuIA4

— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) April 16, 2019

The first thing that strikes you when Woods Richardson takes the mound is his bulldog mentality. From his brisk pace to the post-strikeout strut around the mound, no hitter should want to face him once he gets into a groove. His adrenaline caused him to overthrow his fastballs in his first outing, but he’s since been able to dial it back and fine-tune his command.

Early velocity reports have been consistent within the 93-95 mph range. The 97, 98, 99 is really only going to show up if he’s working in one-inning stints but that isn’t going to be the direction the organization will take in the foreseeable future.

Here is the summary sentence from a Baseball Prospectus eyewitness report ($):

The easy call here is back-end starter or low-end setup type because of mechanics and lack of a third pitch, but there’s still a lot to like with two solid pitches and a great frame.

One of the biggest factors in Woods Richardson’s development this season is sure to be his backstop, 21-year-old Juan Uriarte. The native Mexican has drawn rave reviews both internally and externally for his defense, game calling, and management of pitchers, so it will be interesting to monitor his rapport with Woods Richardson. So far, so good.

The righty from the Houston suburbs has already made a strong impression just three starts into his first taste of full-season ball. Once the training wheels are taken off, Woods Richardson’s stock should too.