It’s becoming something of a trend in Flushing: pitchers arrive, and the New York Mets work their quiet sorcery to bring out the best in them. Since David Stearns took the wheel as president of baseball operations, there’s been a distinct pulse of promise in how New York handles arms.
Call it development, call it refinement, or just call it good coaching—but whatever it is, it’s working.
Look at Jose Quintana, Luis Severino, and Sean Manaea last year. This season? The names are different—Griffin Canning, Max Kranick, and Clay Holmes—but the narrative remains.
Pitchers come in one way and come out looking like polished weapons. It’s a workshop, not a warehouse, and the Mets are getting results.
Enter: Brandon Sproat
Now, the Mets hope their next success story is one they’ve built from scratch: Brandon Sproat, a 2023 second-round pick with the kind of electric stuff that can make radar guns sweat.
Sproat made quick work of High-A and Double-A last year, carving up lineups with ERAs of 1.07 and 2.45 respectively. But the Triple-A jump? That was the steep hill. He stumbled hard—28.2 innings, a 7.53 ERA, and a wake-up call.
Still, the Mets didn’t panic. They saw what he could be, not what he just was. Sproat wasn’t ready for The Show, but Syracuse was the perfect testing ground. Let him cook.
A Quietly Dominant Start
So far, it’s smelling pretty good. In his most recent outing on Friday, Sproat delivered six scoreless innings, giving up just four hits and a walk. He struck out only one batter, which might raise an eyebrow, but it was one of those games where the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
He was efficient, composed, and in command—like a guy who didn’t need to miss bats to get outs.
Joe DeMayo, who watches Mets prospects like a hawk, summed it up neatly: “Fastball touched 99.5, but he leaned heavily on a mid-80s sweeper that he threw 38% of the time.”
Brandon Sproat’s final line today for Syracuse:
6 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K. 76 pitches (52 strikes)
Fastball touched 99.5, but he leaned heavily on a mid-80s sweeper that he threw 38% of the time
His last 3 starts:
14.1 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 9 K
That’s good for a 1.26 ERA
— Joe DeMayo (@PSLToFlushing) April 18, 2025
That pitch, a mix of art and attitude, is becoming his signature.
In his last three starts, he’s allowed just two runs in 14.1 innings. Even including a shaky first outing of the year, Sproat holds a 3.31 ERA and 1.10 WHIP across 16.1 innings. It’s not just solid—it’s promising.
Steps Forward, Not Leaps
What’s changed? Sproat looks calmer. The stuff has always been there—his fastball can hit the upper 90s with ease—but now he’s spotting it. The control is sharper, the sequencing smarter, and the confidence unmistakable. He’s not just throwing; he’s pitching.
Yes, a few more strikeouts would round things out. One strikeout in six innings won’t light up any highlight reels. But not every pitcher has to be a fireworks show.
Sometimes, it’s about painting the corners, inducing weak contact, and letting your defense work behind you. That’s what he did, and it worked.
A Glimpse of What’s Next
Sproat still has boxes to check. Triple-A isn’t a place to coast, and four starts are a small sample size. But the difference in his poise is the kind of thing you can’t always teach. If he keeps stringing together outings like these, the conversation shifts from “when” to “how soon.”
With the Mets always hungry for fresh arms and impact contributors, don’t be surprised if Brandon Sproat trades in his Syracuse orange for Mets blue before long.