Mets' top prospect Brandon Sproat shines in Spring Training debut

The Mets' exciting right-hander took the mound on Friday, and impressed many with his filthy stuff.

Feb 13, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Brandon Sproat (91) pitches live batting practice at Spring Training. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

Friday's Grapefruit League contest at Clover Park marked the pilot of The Brandon Sproat Show.

The New York Mets haven't shied away from letting their stars play this spring, and their latest game against the Washington Nationals was no exception. But even though New York trotted out a lineup with Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Brandon Nimmo, the main attraction was the man on the mound.

In his spring training debut, top prospect Brandon Sproat pitched the first two innings of Friday's game and pieced together a spotless outing. The 24-year-old righty needed just 19 pitches to retire six Washington batters, and he finished the day with a strikeout of fellow prospect Robert Hassell III.

Two perfect innings for Brandon Sproat 💪 pic.twitter.com/hXF9jpeoeO

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) February 28, 2025

Granted, when judging spring training performances, pitch quality is the main focus while statlines are considered irrelevant (especially for younger players). In this regard, Sproat may have been even more impressive. In the first inning, he threw three sinkers and each of them produced a routine ground ball. Sproat consistently reached mid-to-high 90s with his four-seam fastball, and his strikeout of Hassell was a 99 mph heater.

Brandon Sproat works a second perfect inning with a 99 MPH strikeout! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1O2KmS7r6j

— SNY (@SNYtv) February 28, 2025

This encouraging outing will further increase the Mets' confidence in Sproat, who was selected by the team in both 2022 and 2023 in the amateur draft. Last season, the right-hander experienced a meteoric rise up New York's prospect rankings, culminating in him topping MLB.com's Top 30 list at the end of the year.

Across 116.1 innings, Sproat logged a 3.40 ERA and 1.11 WHIP across High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A, with 131 strikeouts against 42 walks. His largest sample size came with Double-A Binghamton, with whom he pitched 62.1 frames with a 2.45 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 77 punchouts against 15 free passes.

Nonetheless, there is still room for improvement. The 24-year-old struggled greatly with Triple-A Syracuse to end the year, recording a 7.53 ERA and 1.64 WHIP in 28.2 innings; he had nearly as many walks (11) as he had in Double-A in less than half the innings. But the Mets have actually considered Sproat's Triple-A blues to be good for his development, believing that a prospect should face adversity before reaching the major leagues.

Read More: Are the Mets creating an elite Minor League system?

Sproat will likely begin the season back in Triple-A; even with injuries to Frankie Montas (lat strain) and Sean Manaea (oblique strain), there is no need for the Mets to rush the development of their top pitcher. His invitation to spring training is part of this development process.

But if Sproat can build off this spring showcase and excel in Triple-A, it won't be long before he gets the call to Queens.