Mets 'strongly considering' promotion of another touted pitcher 

The Mets have already called up two of the organization’s top three pitching prospects. 

Nolan McLean has taken the National League by storm and Jonah Tong looked sharp in his MLB debut on Aug. 29. The third member of their touted Triple-A trio could soon join them in the majors. 

SNY’s Andy Martino reports that righty Brandon Sproat is receiving “strong consideration” to make a start for the big league club in the near future. Sproat is the No. 5 prospect in the Mets' system and third-ranked pitcher, behind McLean and Tong.

A possible promotion for Sproat comes at the same time the Mets have been mulling a minor league stint for struggling righty Kodai Senga. That’s not as straightforward a decision as it might seem. The five-year, $75M contract Senga signed when he came to MLB from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball stipulates that he cannot be optioned to the minors without his consent. It’s not expressly clear that the Mets have asked him to accept an assignment, though Mike Puma of the New York Post implied as much. Puma added that one way or another, the organization expects Sproat to make his big league debut before season’s end.

Sproat, 24, was the Mets’ second-round pick in 2023. The former Florida Gators standout has had an up-and-down year in Triple-A. He struggled to an ERA north of 6.00 in April and May before dominating with a combined 2.22 ERA in June and July. Sproat alternated between quality starts and clunkers throughout August. 

He’s sitting on a 4.24 ERA overall, and he’s punched out 22.1 percent of his opponents against a 10.6 percent walk rate. Those numbers look far better if you toss out the first two months of the season; Sproat has a 3.13 ERA, 25.7 percent strikeout rate and 10.1 percent walk rate in his past 14 starts. He tossed seven scoreless frames against the Yankees’ top affiliate his last time out, fanning nine hitters against only two walks along the way.

The uneven nature of Sproat’s season, coupled with the influx of talent from this year’s draft, has dropped him down — or even entirely off — most top-100 lists around the industry. ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel still lists him 83rd in the game, and Baseball America has Sproat at No. 98. Baseball America notes that his turnaround in Syracuse coincided with increased usage of his curveball, changeup and two-seamer, helping to diversify his repertoire and make him less predictable, as opponents had become too keyed-in on his four-seamer. The 6’3″, 215-pound Sproat is sitting 96.4 mph on that four-seamer this season, and both his changeup and slider draw above-average to plus grades from scouts.

While Sproat’s seemingly inevitable addition to the 40-man roster and his MLB debut will come after Sept. 1, he’ll still be eligible for postseason play. Any player in an organization prior to September is eligible for postseason rosters. Technically, the Mets would need to petition for him to be an injury replacement, but teams make this move every year. At times, we’ve even seen top prospects who weren’t on the 40-man roster at the beginning of September get selected to the roster in October make their MLB debuts in the playoffs (e.g. Shane McClanahan, Adalberto Mondesi, Alex Kirilloff).