Mets top prospect Brandon Sproat made his first start in big-league camp on Friday.
The right-hander, who dominated three levels of the minors last season, was in complete control as he worked his way through two perfect innings in a commanding shutout victory over the Nationals at Clover Park.
Sproat came out firing, sitting around the upper-90s, as he rolled three groundouts in a nine-pitch top of the first. He then easily retired the first two batters in the second, before closing his afternoon with a strikeout of Robert Hassell III on a 99-mph fastball.
The 24-year-old showcased his full MLB-ready arsenal, including the sinker he’s been working on refining this offseason, which resulted in three of the routine grounders he generated on the afternoon.
Overall, it was a positive first impression for the youngster.
“First time pitching in big-league camp, he was really good,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Velo out of the gate. The sinker is a pitch he’s working on — and I thought it was good, he got groundballs with it. The changeup was as advertised. Some pretty electric stuff.”
For those who watched Sproat last season, the results certainly don’t come as a surprise.
There’s a reason he finds himself on numerous top-100 prospect lists heading into this year. The youngster was absolutely tremendous opening last season with High-A Brooklyn, allowing just three runs while striking out 33 batters across his first six outings.
Sproat quickly received a promotion to Double-A Binghamton where he continued to dominate. He put together a stellar 2.45 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 11 appearances — which was good enough to earn him an invite to participate in the All-Star Futures Game.
He finally hit the first bump in the road of his professional career after receiving a late-season call-up to Triple-A. Getting away from his game, he allowed a 7.85 ERA and seven homers over his final seven starts of the season.
But after learning from his mistakes and working to refine his weapons over the offseason, Sproat is ready to get back to doing his thing. He showed that during his live BP sessions early on in camp, and that carried over into Friday’s terrific outing.
“It’s obviously a cool experience,” he said. “There’s a lot of work that goes into it behind the scenes. Whether it’s bullpens, just playing catch, or working out. Going out there and putting together two clean innings today, it’s nice seeing the hard work we put in pay off.”
Sproat is expected to begin the year back down in Syracuse, but if he continues putting together performances like this, it won’t be long before we see him toeing the rubber at Citi Field.
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