The New York Mets are moving to add more speed to their minor league teams at the lower levels, but at Triple A Syracuse this year, the emphasis was on developing arms. Starting arms, specifically. That emphasis paid off in big ways, too, as starters Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong all contributed at the big-league level and shifted the organization’s pitching future into fast forward.
The Syracuse Mets finished the season with a 77-73 record, but that wasn’t the story of the season. According to a piece written by Kai Chang of Metsmerized Online, this year was all about the arrival of top-level prospects, with the likes of Tong, shortstop Jett Williams, center fielder Carson Benge and first baseman/outfielder Ryan Clifford joining McLean and Sproat on the Syracuse roster.
McLean stood out the most. Syracuse plays in a notoriously hitter-friendly league, but that didn’t apply when McLean was on the mound. After being promoted in May, he posted 2.78 ERA over 87-1/3 innings, and he continued that level of performance during a brief but record-breaking stint in New York where he set Mets rookie records that previously belonged to Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver.
Sproat showed flashes, but he also battled inconsistency at times. He struck out 113 hitters in 121 innings, but his ERA was high at 4.24. Sproat did have an amazing month of July with a 0.67 ERA over five starts, though, and that earned him a big league call-up. The same inconsistency surfaced in New York, unfortunately, but Sproat definitely showed enough to be a candidate to make the roster and become part of the rotation next spring.
Tong’s time in Syracuse was very brief but memorable. He pitched shutout ball in the 11-2/3 innings he pitched, then had success with the big club as well. Tong got lit up a couple of times in New York, but he, too, is a candidate to join the roster, with the caveat that he may need more time at Syracuse to hone his formidable skill set.
The other major prospects scuffled to some extent. Clifford had a .754 slugging percentage, but he struggled to break the .200 mark, as did Williams and Benge. They’ll get a long look next spring, but all three are expected to spend next season at the Triple A level.
The relief pitching didn’t live up to expectations, either. Relievers Dylan Ross earned a promotion to Syracuse after dominating in Double A, but he didn’t appear in a game in September. Fellow relievers Felipe De La Cruz and Douglas Orellana struggled, so any bullpen overhaul in New York will have to come through trades or the free-agent market.