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Which Mets prospect could be called up next?

Originally posted on New York Mets on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 10:00 AM ET

The New York Mets have been scuffling recently, going from having the best record in baseball back in late June to battling for a playoff spot in the National League.

Entering play on August 21, the Mets are 6.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East race. They currently hold the final Wild Card spot in the NL, but are only one game ahead of the Cincinnati Reds. This certainly isn’t what was expected, but the team has been mired in a lengthy slump.

One of the major contributing factors to their struggles has been the starting rotation. Their starting pitchers made some brutal history for the lack of length they have been providing in games. That has put a lot of pressure on a bullpen that has looked overworked during some recent meltdowns.

Looking for a spark on the mound, New York decided to make a change last week. They promoted one of their top prospects, right-handed pitcher Nolan McLean, to start on August 16 against the Seattle Mariners. He provided the team with the exact kind of dominant outing they were hoping for, throwing 5.1 shutout innings with eight strikeouts; the only blemish was allowing four walks.

Mets Could Add Brandon Sproat To Rotation Along With Nolan McLean

McLean's stuff looked MLB-ready while with Triple-A Syracuse, and he didn’t disappoint in his debut. He will be taking the mound for his second career start on Friday on the road against the Atlanta Braves, looking to continue his hot start.

And soon, he may not be the least tenured pitcher in the rotation.

The Mets might be looking to add another starting pitcher to the mix and could turn to their farm system once again. In a recent piece put together by Sam Dykstra and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com, they focused on a potential prospect for each team that could be called up; for New York, the selection was Brandon Sproat.

“He has a 2.13 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 12 walks in his last eight starts (42.1 innings) and continues to show good velocity sitting 95-98 mph with a pair of fastballs, a mid-80s sweeper and an 89-92 mph changeup that can get whiffs,” they wrote.

Brandon Sproat is locked in

6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 8 K, including the first six outs of the game! He has a 2.05 ERA since June 28 pic.twitter.com/Lqa5hNAUit
— Mets Player Development (@MetsPlayerDev) August 20, 2025

The No. 5 ranked prospect in the Mets system isn’t far from making his MLB debut. He was in the mix when a spot was opened up with Frankie Montas moving to the bullpen, but McLean was selected instead. It was a move scouts believed was the right choice to make at the time.

But that isn’t an indictment on Sproat, who was just a little behind in his development compared to McLean. He had gotten off to a difficult start to the year, but has since settled in and begun to dominate, as Dykstra and Mayo alluded to.

Sproat has the potential to become a productive part of the New York rotation for years to come, and there is certainly a chance he gets to display that talent on the biggest stage before the season is over.

This article first appeared on New York Mets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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