Noah Syndergaard

Renowned for his flowing golden locks, baseball pitcher Noah Syndergaard worked his way up the minor league ladder before breaking numerous records in his rookie Major League season for the New York Mets. Born in Mansfield, TX in 1992, Syndergaard began to favor baseball over his family and hometown's more traditional sporting pursuit, football, at an early age but wasn't considered to be a college prospect until he experienced a significant growth spurt and began reaching a pitching velocity of 96mph. Syndergaard initially committed to Dallas Baptist University on a baseball scholarship, but soon after was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays as the 38th overall selection in the first round of the 2010 MLB Draft. A year later he pitched for the Bluefield Blue Jays of the Appalachian League, Lansing Lugnuts of the Class A Midwest League and Vancouver Canadians of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League, forming a highly successful pitching trio at the latter two with Justin Nicolino and Aaron Sanchez. In 2012 Syndergaard was traded to the New York Mets and went on to be named an FSL All-Star while playing for the St. Lucie Mets of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League and earn selection for the 2013 All-Star Futures Game during a stint with the Binghamton Mets of the Class AA Eastern League. Following a spell with the Las Vegas 51s of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League Syndergaard made his major league debut for the Mets against the Chicago Cubs in 2015, hitting his first home run against the Philadelphia Phillies two weeks later. Syndergaard also became the first rookie to win two consecutive starts with nine strikeouts and no walks in each start since 1900, helped guide the Mets to their first National League pennant in 15 years and played a vital role in the only game they won in the World Series against the Kansas City Royals. In 2016 Syndergaard tied a club record with 21 strikeouts in his first two starts of the season, became the first Mets pitcher to hit two home runs since Walt Terrell in 1983 and was awarded the National League Player of the Week. Syndergaard was also selected for the 2016 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Petco Park, but was forced to withdraw through injury.