Brandon Sproat was justly rewarded with a promotion for a historic performance on Friday night.
The New York Mets’ top pitching prospect is headed to Triple-A Syracuse after striking out 13 batters across five innings with Double-A Binghamton, including 11-straight punchouts — a feat that has never been seen in Major League Baseball.
With that remarkable outing, the 23-year-old right-hander improved his season statline to 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA and 77 strikeouts across 62.1 innings of work.
Sproat is the Mets’ No. 5 overall ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and one of just two pitchers (Blade Tidwell, No. 10) ranked within the organization’s top 10.
With Sproat’s promotion, three of the Mets’ top five prospects — outfielder Drew Gilbert (No. 2) and infielder Luisangel Acuna (No. 4) — are now in Triple-A.
President of baseball operations David Stearns has ensured a clear path has been made available for the Mets’ top prospects as long-term sustainability remains a notion as highly prioritized as competing for the postseason.
Starting pitcher Christian Scott, currently on the 15-day IL with a sprained UCL, made his MLB debut this season within a starting rotation that does not have many roles nailed down — especially looking ahead to 2025.
Luis Severino and Jose Quintana are free agents after this season and Sean Manaea has a player option for next year. Meanwhile, Adrian Houser was already designated for assignment and Tylor Megill continues to struggle to bolster a spot within the organization.
Stearns acquired Paul Blackburn from the Oakland Athletics at the trade deadline to bolster the rotation after Kodai Senga went down with a season-ending high-grade calf strain, but a precariously perched stable of starters in the thick of a playoff race will have shorter leashes down the stretch, as Stearns has shown throughout his first season in charge. That means opportunities could be there for the likes of Sproat this season if he keeps performing at this pace and if a shakeup in the big leagues is needed.
