The Nate Lavender deception thats continually baffling opposing hitters

No one at the major league level has seen more of Nate Lavender’s fastball than Luis Torrens, whose job catching the new Mets reliever has gone from challenging to almost comical. In the first days of Lavender’s major league life, the ball jumped on Torrens a bit faster than he expected.Now from his crouch, he is watching opposing hitter after opposing hitter go through the same adjustment process.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets.

“I feel like the hitters know the numbers, the metrics, but actually when they’re going to face him, you see weird takes against the fastball,” Torrens said this weekend. Hitters will seek out the four-seamer and then get the exact pitch they were looking for.And yet they don’t swing because it is already upon them. “They go like, ‘Oh f–k, that’s the fastball,’” Torrens said with a smile. With a funky delivery that sneaks up on seemingly every hitter he has seen, Lavender has emerged as not just a nice piece but among the most dominant relievers in the sport since his call-up. Entering Saturday’s 9-5 loss to the Giants at Citi Field, Lavender had been the third-most valuable reliever in baseball — according to FanGraphs’ version of WAR — since debuting Aug.

4, a touch behind Houston’s Josh Hader and Pittsburgh’s Mason Montgomery. His numbers have been otherworldly, carrying a 0.00 ERA this season, the 12 consecutive scoreless innings to begin his career the second-longest such streak in team history.The lefty had faced 44 batters and allowed just eight to reach (five hits, three walks) while striking out 14. No, Lavender has not come out of nowhere: He was a rising prospect with the Mets before injuries (notably 2024 internal brace surgery) struck, went to the Rays as a Rule 5 project and was returned in December because injuries (notably 2025 bone spur surgery) struck again.  Sign...