How much faith should NY Mets have in David Peterson moving forward?
BALTIMORE  Following another rough outing from David Peterson, Mets manager Luis Rojas quickly extinguished any speculation about the left-hander's future at this level. Peterson will make his next start for the New York Mets, not the Syracuse Mets. The Mets believe in him, Rojas said, and they're committed to helping him through this tough time. We need to get him right," Rojas said. "We need David Peterson." In short: Probably. Peterson is only 25. Because the Mets needed him last season, he has never pitched in Triple A. And because of the short season, you could view him as a rookie. He's not the first pitcher to struggle early in his career. You still go through things that are going to make you better," Rojas said. "Ive said in some of the outings that hes had before that these things are making him better. The stuff, its there. Hes got a firm fastball, hes got a good angle, hes got the slider, hes got the changeup, hes got the poise. Hes got a lot there to be a successful pitcher. "Right now its on us  and him  to get back on track. Weve got to work together and weve got to get him where hes going to be good. Because hes been there. Weve seen it, weve all seen it. Its just time to work and make the adjustment." Peterson on Tuesday allowed four runs over 2 2/3 innings in a 10-3 loss to the Orioles. While an improvement from his previous start, when he only recorded an out, he pitched poorly again. His ERA is 6.32. This season, he's had outings of 1/3 of an inning, 1 2/3 innings and now 2 2/3 innings. The Mets need better from him. That might be premature. Sure. But as Rojas mentioned, the Mets are somewhat thinner in their starting pitching depth following injuries to Carlos Carrasco and Jordan Yamamoto. Joey Lucchesi is currently a rotation member, too, so Peterson's spot couldn't go to him. The Mets have three doubleheaders in a week later this month. Their best bet is to try to get Peterson on track. They believe in the stuff. Peterson hit 96 mph with his fastball on Tuesday. His secondary pitches have been inconsistent, but the Mets expect those to come around. We see Petey being successful and going through lineups one, two and three times with the stuff that he has," Rojas said. "He just needs to find the command that he needs in order to get through, and not leave pitches over the plate or have batters eliminating pitches." Over 10 appearances (nine starts) in 2020, Peterson pitched to a 3.44 ERA. He exceeded expectations. However, his FIP  which is similar to ERA but accounts only for pitcher-produced outcomes like walks, strikeouts, home runs and hit-by-pitches  was 4.52. But entering Tuesday's outing in Baltimore, his 5.13 FIP was lower than his 5.89 ERA. What this means: Peterson might be somewhere in the middle of how he pitched last season and how he's pitching this season. While he's struggled in 2021, he's still young. He might continue developing. The Mets probably don't have a better in-house option right now. I think youve got to take the positives and youve got to take things youve got to to work on., and youve got to move forward," Peterson said after Tuesday's loss. "You cant dwell on the good or the bad, youve got to move on to the next one." Justin Toscano is the Mets beat writer for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to all Mets analysis, news, trades and more, please subscribe today and download our app. Email: toscanoj@northjersey.com  Twitter: @justinctoscano