Frank Viola has been too busy trying to get Rafael Montero back into form at Triple-A Las Vegas to spend a lot of time paying attention to Matt Harvey’s recent struggles in Queens.
Still, the Vegas pitching coach — who was so impressed early on in Harvey’s career that he compared Harvey’s mindset to that of Roger Clemens — has been surprised by the right-hander’s recent woes.
“He’s falling behind guys and throwing a lot of pitches to get through five or six innings,” Viola said Tuesday by phone. “That’s not who he is. That tells me he’s not 100 percent confident in what he’s throwing. And when you’re not pitching with confidence, that affects everything.”
Even in Harvey’s good outings, he hasn’t lasted more than six innings. His worst start of the year was his most recent one, in which he surrendered five runs and 11 hits in just 5 2/3 innings to the Rockies — albeit in Colorado.
Frank Viola at spring trainingAnthony J. Causi“Every pitcher goes through a period where they doubt their stuff, so I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Viola said. “It’s a short-term thing. He’s healthy, so he’ll be fine. He just needs one outing where he puts it all together.’’
Viola has been preaching some of the same lessons to Montero, who followed up an awful game against El Paso on May 4, when he gave up seven runs in four innings, with a pair of starts in which he’s pitched 11 2/3 scoreless innings for Las Vegas.
“He’s just been pounding the strike zone again,” Viola said of the difference in Montero’s performance. “He was picking at the corners and nibbling and, like with Matt, that’s not who he is.”
But Viola also warned that the 25-year-old right-hander isn’t all the way back, after losing most of the 2015 season to shoulder issues.
“He’s not where we’ve seen him before,” Viola said. “For him to need 90 pitches to get through five innings, something’s still not right. But he’s establishing his fastball and he’s a good learner, so we’ll get him back.”
