3 NY Mets minor league free agent signings stealing the show from top prospects

The Mets picked up a handful of players on minor league contracts to add depth. But in these 3 cases, they're stealing the show from some of the Mets' best prospects.
Feb 12, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Brandon Waddell (82) pitches during a Spring Training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Feb 12, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Brandon Waddell (82) pitches during a Spring Training workout at Clover Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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The New York Mets made a handful of roster additions in the offseason, including bringin in many players on minor league contracts. It’s always good to have some solid depth options. However, some of these players, whom the Mets added to provide depth, are doing very well to start the year. Not only are they off to hot starts, but they’re even out-performing some of the Mets’ best prospects.

1) Brandon Waddell

The Mets picked up Brandon Waddell in December. The left-hander was originally a fifth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2015. So far, Waddell’s Major League career has only consisted of 12.2 innings for the Pirates, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals in 2020 and 2021. Waddell spent 2023 and 2024 overseas in Asia, pitching in both South Korea and China.

Last year, Waddell tossed 75 frames for the KBO’s Doosan Bears. He owned a 3.12 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 2.87 FIP. Waddell had a 23.8% strikeout percentage, which ranked top ten in KBO last season among pitchers with at least a dozen starts. His 3.5% walk rate was also the fifth best. He also led all KBO pitchers with 70+ frames in 2024 in HR/9 at just 0.36. Waddell also led them in FIP, ranked 5th in ERA, and 6th in WHIP.

After a strong season in Korea, Waddell has taken his talents back over to the United States. So far, he has tossed 19.1 innings for the Syracuse Mets, working to just a 1.40 ERA, 2.88 FIP, and 1.14 WHIP. He only has a 23.4% K%, which is slightly below the league average. But he’s continued to excel at limiting walks and home runs, with just a 5.2% BB% and 0.47 HR/9 ratio.

Waddell is doing just as good, if not better, than some of the Mets’ best pitching prospects. Brandon Sproat, a consensus top-100 prospect entering 2025, has a worse ERA, FIP, strikeout rate, and walk rate than Waddell. Both Waddell and Nolan McLean are very similar in terms of FIP. It’s not just the Mets’ system, either. Among Triple-A pitchers with at least three games started, Waddell has the 9th-best ERA, 24th-best FIP, the 20th lowest walk rate, and the 21st highest K:BB ratio at 4.50.