The Mets are now on their 3rd closer since dealing Francisco Rodriguez to the Brewers. Jason Isringhausen and Bobby Parnell both failed to keep the job, so 30-year old righty Manny Acosta will be getting his chance. Acosta has pitched in 40 games (0 starts) for the Mets so far this year and he is 3-1 with 2 saves, a 3.61 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. He has given up 44 hits in 42 1/3 innings this year, but he has limited the damage due to only walking 13 batters while whiffing 43 of them. It will be interesting to see if Acosta is up to the challenge or not.

36-year old righty knuckleballer R.A. Dickey has been outstanding lately for the Mets. In his 7 starts in August & September, Dickey is 3-2 with a 2.53 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He has now pitched in 30 games (29 starts) for the Mets so far this year and he is 8-11 with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has only walked an amazing 47 batters while whiffing 119 of them in his first 187 innings this year, which proves that Dickey has really mastered the knuckleball due to his control. Dickey has now pitched in 57 games (55 starts) in his first two years with the Mets and he is 19-20 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Dickey is a late bloomer who could pitch for a long time as the pitch he likes to throw doesn’t cause too much stress on the arm.

25-year old righty starting pitcher Dillon Gee isn’t a fireballer by any means but he really knows how to pitch. He has pitched in 21 games (18 starts) for the Mets so far this year and he is 10-3 with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Gee has only given up 92 hits in his first 112 1/3 innings this year despite only whiffing 74 batters. Gee is also conveniently wild as he has hit 11 batters with pitches already and he has walked 46 batters. Despite putting all of those extra baserunners on, Gee seems to work his way out of trouble more often than not. Gee has now pitched in 26 games (23 starts) in his first two years with the Mets and he is 12-5 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. The Mets hope Gee keeps up the magic act on the mound as he has been impressive.

The Mets plucked 24-year old righty reliever Pedro Beato off the Orioles last winter in the Rule 5 Draft. He has been a very important part of the Mets’ bullpen this year as he is looking like an outstanding pickup. Beato has pitched in 34 games (0 starts) for the Mets so far this year and he is 2-1 with a 3.27 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He has given up 28 hits in his first 41 1/3 innings in the majors but only has 24 whiffs. He is trusting his stuff (which is good) as he looks like he could have a long career with the Mets.

26-year old righty reliever Bobby Parnell has been very impressive so far this year. After returning from a recent stay on the D.L., he is throwing much harder than ever before. That has the Mets thinking that he will be first in line for the closer’s job if they deal Francisco Rodriguez later this month. Parnell has pitched in 22 games (0 starts) for the Mets so far this year and he is 2-1 with a 2.66 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He has whiffed 29 batters in only 23 2/3 innings so far this year so he has the stuff to succeed pitching late in games. It will be interesting to see if he can keep up the good work as he has pitched in 137 games (8 starts) in his first four years with the Mets and he is 6-10 with 1 save, a 4.32 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP.