New York Mets
Role Player
Justin Hagenman to start Wednesday
Source: https://www.amazinavenue.com/2025/4...an-to-start-wednesday-griffin-canning-illness
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Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Hagenman is filling in for the ill Griffin Canning.
Due to Griffin Canning being unavailable due to an undisclosed illness, Justin Hagenman will start tomorrow for the Mets’ matinee with the Twins.
Hagenman, a free agent signing in the offseason who will be making his big league debut, was one of the typical David Stearns singings - a pitcher with some hidden upside that he feels can be maximized. He is already on the 40-Man Roster, and so should be the corresponding move when Jose Siri is placed on the IL for a fractured tibia. Here is how our Lukas Vlahos described him earlier this year:
Justin Hagenman... had an ugly ERA and worse peripherals as a swingman for Boston’s Triple-A affiliate. He also has a highly rated sweeper (95th percentile stuff) and four-seam fastball (90th percentile), neither of which he threw often enough. He also has a solid enough change and slider that bulk out the diversity of his arsenal, something that should make him a viable candidate to start.
And this is how our Steve Sypa wrote him up when discussing potential starting rotation depth:
The 27-year-old right-hander throws from a low-three-quarter arm slot with a bit of effort in his delivery. Hagenman has been a dependable strike-thrower despite this, with a cumulative 7% BB% over 409.0 innings (2.9 BB/9). The 6’3”, 205-pound right-hander mainly relies on four-pitch mix that includes a two-seam fastball, a cutter, a slider, and a changeup. None of his pitches grade out as much better than fringe-average. While the right-hander has been reliably able to get punchouts with his stuff, running a 25% K% over the course of his minor league career (9.3 K/9), his stuff is still fairly hittable, with batters hitting .249/.318/.485 in 2024. The right-hander gives up too many fly balls, and too many of those fly balls have been going for home runs.
Hagenman is not off to a great start in Syracuse, appearing three games with a 6.97 ERA. His last start, on April 10th, he went just two and two-thirds innings while throwing 64 pitches, but only gave up one run while striking out five and walking two.
The Mets will need another starter for Friday night’s game against the Cardinals. José Ureña would be lined up for the start, but would need to be added to the Mets’ 40-Man Roster.
Source: https://www.amazinavenue.com/2025/4...an-to-start-wednesday-griffin-canning-illness