Young New York Mets pitcher has new focus during Tommy John rehab

Young New York Mets pitcher Christian Scott has a new focus as he rehabs from a Tommy John surgery he underwent in September.

Jul 13, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets starting pitcher Christian Scott (45) is taken out of the game in the fifth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The New York Mets starting rotation depth is not much to speak of, and one of their young pitchers still has a long way to go in his rehab from Tommy John surgery.

Read more: The New York Mets Should Find a Way to Add a Frontline Starter

Christian Scott was drafted by the Mets in the fifth-round of the 2021 MLB draft out of the University of Florida. In college, the hurler served as a reliever far more often than he started, but New York saw something in Scott, converting him to a starter with a high level of success.

Since becoming a full-time starter in 2023, Scott has pitched to a 2.85 ERA across 120 innings in 28 starts with 162 strikeouts. Though he did make his Major League debut in 2024, that success did not translate as the right-hander pitched to only a 4.56 ERA across 47 1/3 innings in nine starts with 39 strikeouts and an 87 ERA+.

Christian Scott generated 18 Whiffs in his fantastic MLB debut

Here are all of them: pic.twitter.com/kTQG6qa5fz

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) May 5, 2024

The 2024 season would come to an early end for Scott, seeing the pitcher hit the injured list with a sprained UCL in his right elbow. Scott acknowledged at the time that he may need surgery, but he and the team opted instead to rest for two months and re-evaluate. Inevitably, Scott would undergo Tommy John surgery in September, which will keep him off the field for all of 2025.

It is a long road back to baseball after Tommy John surgery, one that Mets fans know all too well with the team's history for the better part of the last decade. There are many different aspects of the rehab from Tommy John surgery, and Scott has added one more to the list: adding more muscle mass.

While he will be unable to participate in any games this year, Scott has still arrived at training camp carrying more muscle than he ever has before. He told reporters that he has put on 10 pounds of muscle over the offseason and is up to 218 pounds total now, with an ultimate goal of 220 pounds.

Christian Scott, in the dog days of Tommy John surgery rehab, looks lowkey jacked. He said he put on 10 pounds of muscle over the offseason and is up to 218 pounds now (and wants to get to 220).

He would lose 5-6 pounds *during* a start last year, so extra strength is key.

— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) February 15, 2025

The extra strength will be beneficial to Scott, who said he would lose "five-to-six pounds" during a start last year. Averaging just over five innings per start at the Major League level, the extra muscle mass should allow him to pitch longer into games when he does return in 2026, sporting a load more fitting of a starting pitcher.

Scott has a four-pitch repertoire, with a four-seam fastball, sweeper, slider, and split-finger offering. None of his pitches jump off the page to this point in his career, though his four-seam fastball has seen the most success with a 22.0 percent whiff rate and 24.1 percent strikeout rate on the pitch.

It is a long road back to Major League baseball for Scott after his September Tommy John surgery, but having him back in 2026, plus his focus on the extra muscle mass, will be a boon to the Mets' starting depth moving forward.