After the 2023 campaign got off to a dreadful start that ultimately forced the New York Mets to pivot and become sellers at the trade deadline, they were able to get back some promising talent into their pipeline.
In fact, three out of their current top-five prospects were brought into the organization through different deals last season.
With limited time for them to work within the Mets' pipeline last year, spring was a great opportunity to see what some of these players could do, especially during Spring Training and the new Spring Breakout event that showcased top minor leaguers across the entire league.
However, it was a new face for New York that "stood out" according to MLB Pipeline.
Brandon Sproat impressed during their game against the Washington Nationals when he pitched a scoreless inning while not allowing a single hit and striking out two batters.
"The 2023 second-rounder out of Florida had shown good velo on the backfields early in his first Spring Training camp and had no issue bringing the fastball to the main stadium, touching as high as 99 ... Sproat needed only six pitches to retire the side in the sixth inning ... and got whiffs on four of those six – two on his fastball, two more on his upper-80s cutter," the writers at MLB.com noted.
For someone without any professional baseball experience, this is impressive.
The 23-year-old is ranked as the Mets' No. 13 overall prospect in their farm system already, suggesting that his ceiling is extremely high.
Sproat will likely be used as a starting pitcher in the minors this year coming off a senior season at Florida where he had an 8-3 record with a 4.66 ERA 4.66 over his 19 starts. He also pitched 106 1/3 innings and struck out 134 batters while walking 48.
New York will get a much better sense of what he can do when he appears for the first time in their minor league system in 2024.
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