Christian Scott Has One Major Question to Answer for Mets in 2027

Christian Scott's first full major league season is officially in the books after the New York Mets placed the right-hander on the 15-day injured list ahead of Tuesday's series opener against the Texas Rangers.

Scott was in line to make one more start before the regular season officially concludes this weekend, but instead walks away from 2026 with plenty to be encouraged about at age 27.

In 23 starts, Scott went 4-5 with a 3.85 ERA, 134 strikeouts, and a 1.27 WHIP across 110 innings. He struck out 28.3% of the batters he faced while holding opposing hitters to a .224 batting average.

It's quite the turnaround for Scott, who wasn't even in the Mets' rotation to begin the season after missing all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Now, he enters 2027 with a much clearer place in New York's starting rotation.

However, Scott still has one major flaw in his game that he must correct it for the Mets to feel fully confident in handing him the ball every fifth day.

What Christian Scott needs to improve heading into next season

New York Mets starting pitcher Christian Scott prepares to throw a pitch against the New York Yankees. — New York Mets starting pitcher Christian Scott's 2026 campaign gives fans in Queens hope for 2027, but he must fix this one part of his game. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In Scott's rookie season in 2024, it was clear he possessed a live arm but lacked another reliable secondary pitch outside of his sweeper. He addressed that weakness during his rehab, unveiling a new cutter in spring training. The pitch became much more than just another addition to his arsenal. It developed into Scott's most valuable offering, with a run value of eight, per Baseball Savant.

With three legitimate weapons at his disposal, Scott mowed down hitters several times this season, looking nearly unhittable. However, another flaw emerged during his outings that he must address for 2027.

In his 23 starts this year, Scott completed six innings just three times, struggling to consistently provide the Mets with length despite how dominant he looked at times. Several factors contributed to those shortened outings.

The first problem was Scott's tendency to have one inning where he either lost command or allowed hits to pile up, quickly driving up his pitch count. With the bases empty, opposing hitters batted just .206 against him, but that number jumped to .269 with runners in scoring position.

The second problem goes back to a weakness Scott showed as a rookie in 2024. His four-seam fastball, sweeper, and cutter are all elite pitches, but he lacks a reliable off-speed offering to disrupt hitters' timing. Scott does have a splitter that has flashed at times, but it needs more refinement before he can rely on it, which explains why he threw it just 4% of the time.

Even when Scott was on his A-game, opposing hitters began to catch up as they saw him multiple times through the order. Through his first five innings, opponents never hit above .235 against him in an individual frame. By the sixth inning, however, that number rose to .261.

If the Mets enter next season with Scott penciled in as the No. 3 starter, consistently lasting only five innings won't cut it. Part of becoming a top-tier starter is pairing dominance with the ability to pitch deep into games.

The good news for the Mets is that Scott now has a full season under his belt following Tommy John surgery and should enter 2027 without the same workload concerns. But if the right-hander continues to fade as games progress, his ceiling as a front-line starter will remain limited.

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