The Mets have a terrific list of guest instructors visiting camp this season.
Johan Santana kicked things off last week in Port St. Lucie.
Carlos Beltran and John Franco have been around the club this week.
Then on Thursday, there was another exciting visitor who joined them, as former Mets ace Dwight Gooden was spotted taking in batting practice and defensive drills from the Clover Park dugout prior to the game.
Most of the time, these visits are just ceremonial, but they also present an opportunity for some of the current players to receive words of wisdom from some of the biggest legends in franchise history.
That was the case for top pitching prospect Brandon Sproat, who spent some time chatting with Gooden just one day before he takes the mound for his first Grapefruit League outing.
“It was incredible,” Sproat told MLB Pipeline’s Jonathan Mayo on Thursday’s MLB Tonight. “A guy of that caliber back in the day, I’ve heard so many stories of him. Just being able to pick his brain and see what he has to say, that’s special.”
It certainly is a terrific opportunity for the 22-year-old right-hander, who is coming off a season in which he cruised through three levels of the minors, and is now just one step away from reaching the big leagues.
Sproat started the year allowing just three runs over six starts in Brooklyn. He quickly received a promotion to Double-A Binghamton, where he continued his domination, pitching to a 2.45 ERA and 0.86 WHIP across 11 appearances.
But he finally hit a bit of a learning curve following a late-season promotion to Triple-A, where he struggled to the tune of a 7.85 ERA over his last seven starts, which was a topic of discussion between him and Gooden.
“He asked how Triple-A was,” Sproat said. “I mentioned to him I kind of got away from who I am as a pitcher — that’s trusting my stuff and being the aggressor out there. Wise words from Doc Gooden, that’s special. What he said I’m going to hold dearly and build on that.”
Even with the injuries in the Mets’ rotation, Sproat is expected to begin the year back down in Syracuse, where he’ll continue his development with that experience under his belt and now Gooden’s advice in the back of his mind.
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