The New York Mets are an organization built on pitching, and there is plenty more in the pipeline.
The New York Mets are an organization that was built on pitching. There have been six Mets Rookie of the Year award winners in their sixty-year history, and four of those six were pitchers- Tom Seaver (1967), Jon Matlack (1972), Doc Gooden (1984), and Jacon deGrom (2014). Similarly, a Mets pitcher has taken home the National League Cy Young Award seven times, with four individual pitchers bringing home the hardware- Tom Seaver (1969, 1973 & 1975), Doc Gooden (1985), R.A. Dickey (2012), and Jacob deGrom (2018 & 2019).
The organization at present may be as pitching-rich as it has been in some time, at least since the early-to-mid-2010s when the organization developed and promoted Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, and Noah Syndergaard all in short order.
In 2024, the Mets had not just one, not just two, but three pop-up pitching prospects in Brandon Sproat, Jonah Tong, and Nolan McLean. Sproat led the bumper crop of pitching with a 3.40 ERA in 116.1 combined innings with Brooklyn, Binghamton, and Syracuse, but Tong and his 3.03 ERA in 113.0 innings with St. Lucie, Brooklyn, and Binghamton and McLean with his 3.78 ERA in 109.2 innings with Brooklyn and Binghamton were not that far behind.
It was not all rosy, as a handful of players with expectations had down years, most notably Dom Hamel and Blade Tidwell. Hamel, who posted a 6.79 ERA in 124.2 innings with Syracuse and Tidwell, who posted a 4.86 ERA in 122.1 innings with Binghamton and Syracuse, had similar problems in 2024, mainly pitch sequencing and potentially the Automated Ball-Strike system.
Looking past those players- all of whom are at or near the top of the minor league ladder and are likely to receive MLB playing time within a year or two- the Mets have numerous intriguing options in the lower levels of the minors that might one day develop into the next wave of pitching. Jonathan Santucci and Nate Dohm, both 2024 MLB Draft picks, have lengthy injury histories and have yet to suit up professionally, but have high upside.
Speaking of the 2024 MLB Draft, the organization selected multiple pitchers with similar pitching characteristics- plus induced vertical break on their fastballs and above-average sweeping sliders- believing that such pitch features are currently on the cutting edge of pitching. There are a handful of 2023 MLB Draft selections- Brett Banks, Jack Wenninger, Zach Thornton, Austin Troesser- internationally signed players from years past- Felipe De La Cruz, Douglas Orellana, Franklin Gomez who may surprise us in 2025. In addition, the team has had success identifying talent in undrafted free agents, signing players like Jonathan Pintaro, and may be able to strengthen pitching through that route.