Noah Seth Syndergaard (born August 29, 1992), nicknamed "Thor", is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Cleveland Guardians.
Born in Mansfield, Texas, Syndergaard did not establish himself as a baseball player for Mansfield Legacy High School until his senior year in 2010, where his pitch velocity was bolstered by a growth spurt and weight training regimen. Despite his strong season, Syndergaard's late development meant that he was mostly overlooked by scouts and college coaches, and he received only one college baseball scholarship offer. He turned down Dallas Baptist University, however, when the Toronto Blue Jays selected him in the first round, 38th overall, of the 2010 MLB draft. After three years in the Blue Jays' farm system, Syndergaard was traded with several other prospects to the Mets in exchange for reigning Cy Young Award winner R. A. Dickey. He made back-to-back appearances in the All-Star Futures Game in 2013 and 2014, but was left off of the Mets' September call-up list both years.
Syndergaard made his MLB debut in May 2015, following an injury to Dillon Gee. He impressed manager Terry Collins and remained in the starting rotation for the rest of the regular season. The Mets appeared that year in the 2015 World Series against the Kansas City Royals, with Syndergaard pitching in the team's only win of the series. The next year, Syndergaard was named a National League (NL) All-Star, and became one of only five Mets pitchers to strike out 200 batters in one season before the age of 25. His 2017 and 2018 seasons were limited by injuries and illness, but he managed to start in 32 games for the Mets in 2019. During spring training in 2020, Syndergaard was diagnosed with an ulnar collateral ligament injury and had to undergo Tommy John surgery. He returned for only two innings at the end of the Mets' 2021 season.
In 2022, Syndergaard rejected a qualifying offer from the Mets to sign a one-year, $21 million contract with the Angels. He was traded to the Phillies at the 2022 trade deadline and split time between the starting rotation and bullpen during the team's postseason run that culminated in an appearance in the 2022 World Series. Following the season, he signed a one-year, $13 million contract with the Dodgers for the 2023 season.
Early life Syndergaard was born on August 29, 1992, in Mansfield, Texas, to Brad, a horse breeder, and Heidi Syndergaard, a customer service agent for Abbott Laboratories. He had limited contact with his two paternal half-sisters, who were 14 and 17 years older than Syndergaard. Although he grew up in an area where American football was the most popular sport, Syndergaard never seriously played the sport. Instead, at the urging of his mother, he began playing baseball around the age of seven. Syndergaard attended Mansfield Legacy High School, where he was classmates with future professional baseball pitcher Tejay Antone. He was smaller than many of his classmates until the summer before his senior year, when a growth spurt brought Syndergaard up to , and a weight training regimen helped bring his pitch velocity from to .
In 2010, Syndergaard's senior year of high school, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram named him their Player of the Year. As a pitcher, he had an 11–3 win–loss record and a 1.27 earned run average (ERA), striking out 135 batters and walking only 24 in 88 innings pitched. He was also a successful hitter, batting .409 with 17 doubles, nine home runs, and 41 runs batted in (RBI). Syndergaard's late development, however, meant that he was mostly overlooked by baseball scouts. He had also been injured during his junior season, a time when many college baseball coaches begin looking at prospects. Syndergaard spoke with coaches for Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Baylor, but the only school willing to offer him a scholarship was Dallas Baptist University, where he committed to play for the Patriots as a batter, not a pitcher.
Professional career Draft and minor leagues (2010–2014) The Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB) selected Syndergaard in the first round, 38th overall, of the 2010 MLB draft. He chose to forego his commitment to Dallas Baptist, accepting the Blue Jays' $600,000 signing bonus and beginning his professional baseball career instead. Syndergaard spent the 2010 season with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League (GCL) Blue Jays, with whom he went 0–1 with a 2.70 ERA in five starts, striking out six batters in innings. Syndergaard began the 2011 season with the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League, Toronto's other Rookie-level team. After seven appearances, during which he went 4–0 with a 1.41 ERA and struck out 37 batters in 32 innings, he was promoted to the Class A Short-Season Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League, by which point he could already reach pitch velocities up to . In four starts for Vancouver, Syndergaard went 1–2 with a 2.00 ERA, and he received another promotion, this time to the Low-A Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League, at the end of August. He made only two appearances that season in Lansing, with no record and a 3.00 ERA, striking out nine batters in as many innings. Between the three teams, Syndergaard finished the 2011 season with a 5–2 record and 1.83 ERA in 13 games (11 starts), and he recorded 68 strikeouts in 59 innings.
Syndergaard returned to the Midwest League again in 2012. Lansing starting pitchers were limited to three innings apiece and paired together: on nights where Syndergaard pitched, he would trade off with Anthony DeSclafani. This "piggyback system" proved effective in keeping all of Lansing's starting pitchers sharp: by May 25, the combined ERA for the Syndergaard-DeSclafani pair was 3.07, and the team had a 2.56 ERA and 23–13 record. Through the first half of the season, Lansing led the Midwest League with 47 wins and a 2.80 team ERA, while the trio of Syndergaard, Justin Nicolino, and Aaron Sanchez had a combined 11–2 record and 1.90 ERA. Playing in 27 games for Lansing, 19 of which were starts, Syndergaard went 8–5 for the season with a 2.60 ERA, and he struck out 122 batters in innings.
On December 17, 2012, Syndergaard was traded to the New York Mets as part of a larger deal that allowed Toronto to acquire reigning Cy Young Award winner R. A. Dickey. In addition to Dickey, the Blue Jays acquired catchers Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas in the trade, while the Mets received Syndergaard, Travis d'Arnaud, John Buck, and Wuilmer Becerra. Syndergaard joined the Class A-Advanced St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League for the 2013 season, forming a starting rotation with Hansel Robles, Luis Mateo, Domingo Tapia, and Jacob deGrom. He went 2–3 with a 2.81 ERA in his first 11 starts for St. Lucie, striking out 59 in innings, and was one of three Mets selected for the Florida State League All-Star Game in June. He made one more start for St. Lucie, finishing 3–3 with a 3.11 ERA, before receiving a promotion to the Double-A Binghamton Mets of the Eastern League on June 23. Shortly after his promotion, Syndergaard was invited to the 2013 All-Star Futures Game, where he pitched a scoreless first inning. Syndergaard struggled in his first outing after the All-Star game, allowing three runs on seven hits against the Richmond Flying Squirrels, but recovered quickly, and in 11 starts for Binghamton, he was 6–1 with a 3.00 ERA and struck out 69 batters in 54 innings.
Syndergaard was promoted to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s for the 2014 season, winning his Pacific Coast League debut by striking out five batters in six innings of an 11–8 victory over the Fresno Grizzlies. His first stretch in Vegas was uneven, with a 4–2 record and 3.92 ERA through May 10, and he made a point to spend the season honing his breaking balls to better handle more advanced batters. After experiencing two injuries in May and June, first a strained pronator teres muscle followed by a sprained shoulder, Syndergaard received another invitation to the All-Star Futures Game. This time, he served as the closer for the US team, earning a save with a scoreless ninth inning to win the game 3–2. Syndergaard's season was overall a success, with a 9–7 record and 4.60 ERA in 26 starts and 133 innings. Additionally, despite pitching primarily in the hitter-advantageous Cashman Field, Syndergaard allowed only six home runs and led the Pacific Coast League with 145 strikeouts. Despite this, he was not chosen as a September call-up for the Mets, who could not give Syndergaard any valuable pitching time in the major leagues.
New York Mets (2015–2021) 2015: World Series Appearance
Syndergaard opened the 2015 season in Las Vegas again, battling food poisoning and a forearm strain that April to post a 3–0 record and 1.82 ERA in his first five starts, as well as 34 strikeouts in innings. When starting pitcher Dillon Gee was placed on the disabled list on May 8 with a strained groin, the Mets chose to call up Syndergaard over fellow top prospect Steven Matz. He made his MLB debut on May 12, holding the Chicago Cubs scoreless for five innings before allowing three hits in a row in the sixth, including a two-run home run from Chris Coghlan. He allowed a total of three runs on six hits in the 6–1 loss. Syndergaard's home debut at Citi Field came five days later, and he took the win by pitching six innings in a 5–1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. When Gee returned from the disabled list on May 22, Mets manager Terry Collins decided not to move Syndergaard, instead saying that he would keep a six-man starting rotation that made room for both pitchers. This plan was short-lived, and Gee was designated for assignment on June 15, cementing Syndergaard's position in the rotation.
While facing the Philadelphia Phillies on May 27, Syndergaard not only struck out six batters in innings, but he went 3-for-3 in at bats, one of which was his first major league home run. In doing so, Syndergaard joined Walt Terrell, Dwight Gooden, and Sid Fernandez as the only Mets pitchers to record three hits, including one home run, in a single game. On July 10, he recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts in eight innings, striking out every member of the Arizona Diamondbacks' starting lineup at least once in the 4–2 win. It was the third time through 11 major league starts that he had reached double-digit strikeouts. He and teammate Lucas Duda were named National League (NL) Co-Players of the Week for the week ending August 3. While Duda recorded seven home runs, Syndergaard struck out an MLB-leading 18 batters in 16 innings of work, bringing his career strikeout total to 100 in only 15 starts. Syndergaard made 24 regular-season starts as a rookie, posting a 9–7 record and 3.24 ERA in the process while striking out 166 batters in 150 innings of work. He finished fourth in voting for NL Rookie of the Year, behind Jung Ho Kang, runner-up Matt Duffy, and winner Kris Bryant.