New York Pitching Prospects Off To Strong AFL Starts

In you want to make a positive impression as a pitcher at any level of baseball, get into the habit of preventing runs from scoring.

At the midway point of the 2026 Arizona Fall League (AFL), many of the New York Mets' pitching prospects are doing just that as members of the Surprise Saguaros.

Brendan Girton has taken the mound three times for Surprise and has yet to allow an earned run in 2.1 innings pitched, good for a 0.00 ERA.

Girton's teammate, Ryan Lambert has actually been slightly better with three innings pitched and no runs or hits allowed, giving him a 0.00 ERA and 0.33 WHIP courtesy of the one walk he has issued.

If strikeouts are your thing, take a gander at Irving Cota's line. Since arriving in Surprise, it appears he has been throwing a disappearing ball. In 7.2 innings pitched he has recorded an AFL-best 12 strikeouts, which equates to a 44.4% strikeout rate and 14.1 strikeouts per nine innings. With only one hit and three walks allowed, he has fashioned a 0.52 WHIP with opposing batters compiling a .040 average against his offerings.

While all of Girton, Lambert and Cota's appearances have come in relief, Peyton Prescott has made three starts for the Saguaros and posted victories in two of them. Dubbed an AFL sleeper by MLB.com before the season began, Prescott, who had Tommy John surgery in April 2025 before the Mets selected him in the fifth round of that year's draft, has thrown seven innings in his three starts and allowed three ERs for a 5.40 ERA.

New York's final hurler for Surprise is Calvin Ziegler, who has gotten off to a rough start by allowing five ERs in 2.1 innings of relief work.

At the plate, the Mets' three Saguaros have been on the struggle bus so far. Cole Mathis, who was acquired from the Chicago Cubs for pitcher David Peterson in June, has the most favorable prospect pedigree among the trio as he ranks No. 13 amongst Mets' minor-leaguers according to MLB Pipeline.

That hasn't prevented him from getting off to a .143 start at the plate with a .523 OPS, though he does have more walks (five) than strikeouts (four), lending hope that some good swing decisions will eventually lead to more production.

Infielder Bruin Agbayani, the Mets' No. 28 prospect, was also acquired during the summer, in his case from the Minnesota Twins for pitcher A.J. Minter. He has also struggled in the first half of the AFL season with a .091 average in seven games played. He does count a double among his two hits in 22 at-bats with a worrying 10 strikeouts for a 45.5% strikeout rate.

Finally, third baseman Boston Baro has appeared in six games, rolling up 14 at-bats and four hits for a 1.43 average. Encouragingly, he does have more walks (eight) than strikeouts (five), which helps bring his OBP to a robust .455.