SNY contributor Joe DeMayo answers fan questions in this edition of the Mets Minor League Mailbag…
Where does Brett Baty stand with the 2025 Mets? Is he still considered a prospect and does he have a legitimate chance to win a position to start this year? – @hvilla292
As the roster is currently constructed, Baty would likely be competing for the third base job with Mark Vientos sliding across the diamond to first base. However, I would be surprised if the Mets didn’t add a veteran player at either first base or third base in the coming days or weeks.
Whether that is re-signing Pete Alonso, signing Alex Bregman, or adding someone we aren’t thinking about now remains to be seen. Barring injury, I would not envision Baty as a starter on Opening Day.
Baty is technically no longer considered a prospect as he has exceeded the thresholds to maintain prospect status. With that said, he is still 25 years old and has appeared in only 169 career big league games.
While it is possible Baty ends up being part of a trade to help the Mets’ pitching staff, as we’ve discussed on The Mets Pod, in a lot of ways the Baty situation now is reminiscent of Vientos this time last year.
We received many mailbag questions wanting to trade Vientos due to him not showing much in limited opportunities at the big league level. Good thing the Mets held out on that one, huh?
One key is that Baty still possesses minor league options. Depth is important, as the Mets had 22 position players receive plate appearances in 2024. The ideal scenario is that Baty opens the season with Triple-A Syracuse so he can continue to work on his versatility and be ready in case a need arises with the big league club.
Which minor league pitcher will have the largest impact on the team this season? – @WillieDeutsch
The Mets system is getting to the point where young pitchers are likely to play a role in 2025. President of baseball operations David Stearns has said repeatedly over the last 12 months that having room for opportunities for young talent to impact the Mets is necessary.
The biggest impact pitcher in 2025 is likely to be my No. 2 prospect in the system, right-hander Brandon Sproat.
After signing as a second-round pick out of the University of Florida in 2023, Sproat took minor league baseball by storm with his 100 mph fastball. He went from an arm that many considered to be a project to one of the best pitching prospects and a consensus Top 100 prospect in the sport.
He started his professional career with High-A Brooklyn and after posting a 1.07 ERA in six games he was quickly moved up to Double-A Binghamton — where he didn’t slow down. In 11 games there, he posted a 2.45 ERA including his final Double-A outing of five shutout innings with 13 strikeouts.
He ran into his first struggles as a professional at the Triple-A level, where he pitched to a 7.53 ERA in seven games. Triple-A does pose more of a challenge for pitchers as they are often facing veteran hitters and are at a level that uses a different ball. The strike zone is also different, with the automatic ball-strike system in place.
Sproat will have to refine some of his secondary offerings and clean up some of his in-zone command, but he possesses No. 2 type starter potential and I think he could force the Mets’ hand in the first half of 2025.
Some other names who I expect to start at the Triple-A level and could make an impact in 2025 are No. 9 prospect Blade Tidwell and No. 18 prospect Dom Hamel. No. 7 prospect Nolan McLean is likely to start the season with Double-A, but if he has a hot start to the season, he could potentially push his way into a summer promotion.
Unrelated to the 2025 Mets, here’s a little bonus content…
I saw multiple responses on X (@PSLToFlushing) where I sought mailbag questions asking about right-hander Matt Allan.
Allan was the Mets’ third-round pick back in 2019 and he reached Top 100 prospect in baseball status. However, 2019 was also the last time Allan pitched in a professional game. He has undergone Tommy John surgery twice and had a couple of other setbacks.
Here’s an update: The last I heard is that Allan was expected to have a healthy offseason with plans of being ready to go for spring training. We are a long way from this reality, but there is at least some optimism that he could be back on a professional mound in 2025 for the first time in over five years.
Read the full article here