The New York Mets start a huge series against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. New York holds a five-game lead over Cincinnati, and a four-game lead over the San Francisco Giants, for the final NL Wild Card spot. Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong have injected energy into the pitching staff when it was desperately needed. The Mets are adding another prospect to the pitching staff, calling up Brandon Sproat.
SNY's Andy Martino originally indicated that Sproat could be on his way to the Mets. “In keeping with the Mets' aggressive promotions of young pitchers of late, Brandon Sproat is in strong consideration for a start with Mets.”
Mets prospect analyst Joe DeMayo of SNY posted about Sproat's minor-league stats, ‘If the Mets are indeed calling up Brandon Sproat as [Martino] suggested, he is ready for it. Over his last 11 appearances he’s posted a 2.40 ERA in 59 innings with 70 strikeouts. Opposing batters have hit .163 against him in that stretch.”
Sproat was a second-round pick in the 2023 draft and has soared through the organization ever since. He started 2024 in high-A ball, ending the year with AAA Syracuse. In 26 appearances with Syracuse this year, he has a 4.24 ERA.
McLean, Tong, and Sproat were ranked numbers three, four, and five, respectively, in MLB.com's Mets pipeline rankings. After striking out on free-agent deals and not adding starters at the deadline, David Stearns dipped into the farm system. The Amazins have had a strong pitching pipeline in the past, and are hoping the youngsters carry them in October this year.
The Mets face the Reds for three games and end the road trip with four massive games in Philadelphia. They can close the NL East gap while pulling away in the Wild Card race with a hot week. Can their young pitchers step up in the big moments?
