Kodai Senga Continues Strong Rookie Campaign
It was Kodai Senga night in Queens on Friday, in more ways than one.
Senga’s 24th start of the year headlined Japanese Heritage Night at Citi Field. Before the game, the Mets handed out a glow-in-the-dark ball to the first 15,000 fans to honor Senga’s ghost forkball.
Kodai Senga. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
The rookie right-hander had his best stuff against the Los Angeles Angels despite picking up his 7th loss of the season. He tallied ten strikeouts across 6 2/3 innings, recording 18 swings and 15 whiffs on his signature ghost forkball. It was the third time Senga recorded double-digit strikeouts in a single game and the first time doing so since July 5th against the Arizona Diamondbacks where he struck out 12 batters over 8 innings.
While he pitched brilliantly, Senga was responsible for the loss after allowing two runs in the third inning. Shohei Ohtani started the rally by ripping a double that one-hopped the right field wall to put runners on 2nd and 3rd base. After Brandon Drury‘s sacrifice fly to get the Halos on the board, Mike Moustakas lined a base hit to score another run to make it 2-0.
After 11 seasons pitching in the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan, Senga is having himself an impressive rookie campaign in MLB. In 24 starts (136 1/3 innings), he has recorded a 3.17 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, and 164 strikeouts (10.8 K/9). The only rookie pitcher in the National League with a better ERA this season is Andrew Abbott, who has a 3.16 ERA in nine fewer starts.
Kodai Senga’s ghost fork was ridiculous on Friday night:
18 swings, 15 whiffs
— Mike Mayer (@mikemayer22) August 26, 2023
While Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll is the front-runner for National League Rookie of the Year, Senga is making a case in his own right. Among MLB qualifiers, he currently ranks 16th in strikeouts (164), 7th in strikeouts per nine (10.8), 21st in fWAR (2.6), and 11th in ERA (3.17). Meanwhile, Carroll has cooled off in the second half, slashing .250/.331/.417/.748 in 34 games.
If Senga made a late-season push, he would be the seventh Met in history to win the National League Rookie of the Year award, joining Pete Alonso (2019), Jacob deGrom (2014), Dwight Gooden (1984), Darryl Strawberry (1983), Jon Matlack (1972), and Tom Seaver (1967).
With the deadline trades of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, Senga has settled into the top spot of the Mets rotation. He has proved that he can be a top-of-the-rotation starter in the Major Leagues and barring any free-agent acquisitions this off-season, will be the Mets’ ace in 2024.
Senga also has solidified himself as the steal of the 2022 offseason after he signed a five-year, $75 million deal with the Mets. He made an all-star appearance in his first year in MLB and is out pitching his $14 million AAV (average annual value). The Mets are lucky to have another ace they can build around in the future.
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