Matt Harvey

The Mets drafted him with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2010 MLB Draft.

In his major league debut on July 26, 2012 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Harvey set a new club record with 11 strikeouts in his major league debut while earning his first career victory.

Harvey previously played at Fitch Senior High School in Groton, Connecticut and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Harvey was first drafted out of Fitch Senior High School in the third round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim but opted not to sign.

He instead attended University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he pitched for three years as a Tar Heel.

During his collegiate career, Harvey went 22-7 with 3.73 ERA in 238.2 innings.

He ranks ninth all-time in UNC history in strikeouts (263) and 10th in wins (22).

Harvey spent the summers of ’08 and ’09 pitching for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Harvey was a key component of the Anglers’ 2008 bullpen, completing the season with a 0.83 ERA, the lowest on the team, pitching 21.2 innings and striking out 29 of 92 batters faced.

Harvey returned to Chatham in 2009 after a difficult sophomore year on the mound.

As Harvey explains, he had lost some of the mechanics and flexibility that had made him such a great pitcher throughout high school and the beginning of his college career.

Although his ’09 summer was not as impressive as the previous one, his time on the Cape helped him return to the basics and set him on the road to becoming the seventh overall draft pick in the 2010 first year player draft.

According to his pitching coach at UNC, Scott Forbes, Harvey returned from the 2009 Cape League season with “a more professional approach.”

Harvey was selected as the seventh overall pick by the New York Mets in the 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Harvey was listed at 6' 4" and 210 lbs, batting and throwing right-handed.

In 2011, Harvey's first professional season in the Mets minor-league system, he spent time between the single-A St. Lucie Mets and the double-A Binghamton Mets.

With St. Lucie in the Florida State League (FSL), he went 8–2 with a 2.37 ERA and recorded 92 strikeouts in 76 innings.

His performance garnered him two FSL Pitcher of the Week awards and he was selected as a FSL Mid-Season All-Star.

Although selected to appear in the FSL All-Star game, Harvey did not pitch because he was promoted to Double-A Binghamton.

In the Eastern League with Binghamton, he went 5–3 with a 4.53 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 59.2 innings.

Harvey also pitched in the 2011 All-Star Futures Game, recording a save for the winning U.S. team over the World team.

Harvey was ranked as the Mets organization's second best prospect in 2012 and the 34th overall best prospect by MLB.com.

He was invited to spring training by the Mets that year but did not make the team.

Instead, he was promoted to the club's triple-A affiliate, the Buffalo Bisons of the International League (IL).

In the first half of his 2012 season at triple-A, Harvey went 7–4 with a 3.39 ERA in 18 starts.

That performance earned him IL Mid-Season All-Star honors.

His strong pitching, plus injuries to major leaguers Mike Pelfrey and Dillon Gee, put him in contention for the fifth spot in the Mets rotation.

Despite spending more time pitching at triple-A than other top draft picks — 105 innings, recording a 3.34 ERA and striking out over a batter per inning through mid-July — the Mets front office (headed by general manager Sandy Alderson) did not want to promote Harvey until his consistency and control were better.

Harvey continued to garner accolades for his arm strength and control in 2013. New York sports radio host Mike Francesa has compared Harvey to standouts like Justin Verlander, Andy Pettite and Curt Schilling.

After watching Harvey's first two starts of the 2013 season, during which he struck out 19 in 14 innings, former Mets manager Bobby Valentine said Harvey had the potential to be "the best Met pitcher to ever wear the uniform."

His April performance garnered him Pitcher of the Month honors after he posted posted a 1.56 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 40.1 innings pitched in the month. Opposing batters hit .153 against him.

On April 13, Matt Harvey had a no-hit bid through 6 2/3 innings against the Minnesota Twins until Justin Morneau hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to end the shutout.

On May 7, Harvey retired the first 20 Chicago White Sox batters he faced until Alex Rios broke up the perfect game with an infield single.

Harvey left the game after nine innings, having surrendered only the one hit, as the Mets won in 10 innings.

He was subsequently featured on the cover of the May 20, 2013 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine, dubbed "The Dark Knight of Gotham".

On June 18, Harvey took another no-hitter into the seventh inning, but was stymied by an infield single off the bat of the Atlanta Braves' Jason Heyward.

Harvey notched a career-high 13 strikeouts in the game, giving up three hits over seven innings.

As the mid-season All-Star break approached, team management talked about limiting Harvey's innings to ensure his pitching health.

Harvey had thrown 117 innings in 17 starts at the time, which would put him on a season-long pace for 240-250 innings.

Mets manager Terry Collins said Harvey would not be allowed to pitch more than 215-220 innings.

Harvey was named the starting pitcher for the 2013 MLB All-Star Game, which took place at the Mets' home ballpark, Citi Field.

On August 7, Harvey pitched his first career complete game shutout, giving up four hits and striking out six in a 5-0 win over the Colorado Rockies.

On August 26, Harvey was diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

He will be put on the disabled list and surgery will be considered, according to the New York Mets GM Sandy Alderson.

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