NY Mets prospect took big step toward major league return, another question lingers

Slow and steady might win an unsanctioned race between hares and tortoises in the forest. In Major League Baseball, sometimes you need to pull the trigger more appropriately rather than wait too long. New York Mets prospect Christian Scott is in a fascinating position where, at 26 with his next birthday coming up in mid-June, is right in the thick of needing to prove himself in 2026.

Thrown the unfortunate curveball of Tommy John surgery which spoiled his 2024 rise and derailed him for all of 2025, this is a year of rehabbing in actual games. He pitched a clunker in his 2026 debut for Syracuse, lasting 3.1 innings and allowing 7 runs (6 earned). On Thursday, he renounced nicely with 5 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts along the way.

A bit forgotten with the rise of Nolan McLean and exclamation point Jonah Tong had in the minors last year, Scott feels likely to be the first one to push any of the major leaguers off the roster completely or bump them shoulder-to-shoulder with Sean Manaea in the bullpen.

Christian Scott had a much better second start for Syracuse, where does he fit into the Mets plans?

Allowing Scott to throw 76 pitches in 5 innings is hardly requesting he pull off a Nolan Ryan. The Mets aren’t being overly cautious with him and for good reason. He can’t just linger around in Triple-A for a full year. This is the year where he needs to contribute.

The Mets have been caught in the last two seasons requiring the services of young players a little sooner than anticipated. Scott was a premature call-up in 2024. Last year, the Mets rushed Tong to the majors without enough time spent in Triple-A. Their real mistake with him was letting him dominate in Double-A too long. He should have been in Syracuse by July.

Age should play a factor in how the Mets handle Scott. He’s no longer a kid. Only a year younger than Tobias Myers and older than Brett Baty by a few months, the time to wait and see what he can accomplish is long gone.

The troubling part with Scott is there isn’t any sort of clear runway to make it back to the majors outside of a drastic change for the Mets. Are they really going to shove David Peterson into the bullpen along with Manaea? It’s the ever-present injury bug which’ll have to appear on the shoulder, elbow, or leg muscle you’ve never heard of to award Scott with his opportunity.

For a glance, the Mets could always do the unthinkable and give Scott a spot start. Although they’re not moving off of a five-man rotation, it doesn’t ensure the make-up game due to rain ends up pushing Manaea back to the rotation or gives Myers a chance to show the Mets what he can do over the long haul of a game.