Mets' Harvey faces hitters for 1st time since surgery: 'I couldn't feel better'

New York Mets right-hander Matt Harvey took the mound Friday at his team's spring training facility and, for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in October 2013, saw someone staring back at him.

In front of a sizable crowd, Harvey threw a total of 40 pitches to David Wright, Michael Cuddyer, Curtis Granderson and Daniel Murphy over a pair of 20-pitch simulated innings. Though his teammates were instructed not to swing, Harvey still admitted afterwards he was "not holding back."

"It was awesome," Harvey told ESPN's Adam Rubin. "Obviously throwing a bullpen on the '10-pack' with nine other guys is a different feeling than facing basically our 'Core Four,' or whatever you call it. You step in the box and you have David in there, it's a good feeling to have that and be back. I couldn't feel better. It was a good day.

"The biggest thing today is getting used to having somebody in there and getting that feel of somebody standing in the box. Obviously them not swinging, you don't quite get all the feel of what you need to work on or exactly what is working at the time and what isn't."

The club didn't use a radar gun to track the velocity, but manager Terry Collins estimated Harvey's final pitch, a two-seam fastball, clocked in at 94-95 miles per hour. Harvey also asked Wright to compare Friday's outing to how he looked in spring training prior to his breakout 2013 campaign.

"He had great feedback," Harvey said. "He felt it was very similar, if not better, than before. I think (with) the excitement of looking toward a full first season in 2013 I might have been a little more pumped up than I was today. But as far as location and the way things felt, it was pretty successful."

Harvey is scheduled to make his Grapefruit League debut March 6 against the Detroit Tigers, his first game action in roughly 18 months.