NY Mets prospect who can't stop striking out batters needs a bigger challenge

New York Mets prospect Ryan Lambert has retired 9 batters this spring and 8 of them have been via strikeout. One hit against him and a pair of walks, he has standout statistics that seem to confirm he’s everything (and more) of what the Mets are hoping he can be.

Hefty strikeout numbers like that are great under any circumstance. However, his opponent quality hasn’t even been close to what he has been facing.

Baseball-Reference does a beautiful thing where they average out who you face. Referred to as “OppQual” or Opponent Quality, it gives players a score in spring training of who they’re actually facing. At 4.2, Lambert has faced some of the most inferior competition this spring in all of Major League Baseball. The 4.2 average says he’s facing guys barely about the Single-A level.

Can we see what Ryan Lambert is capable of against major league hitters?

Because he has been pitching later in games, Lambert is facing the C-squads for many teams. The starters are out and the backups are generally in games when he steps on the mound. He already dominated High-A and Double-A last year with respective ERAs of 1.13 and 1.71. Outrageous strike totals as well, 13.7 K/9 in his 42 Double-A innings, it seems as if the Mets aren’t really learning much more about him this spring.

Sure, spring training is about a lot more than one thing. It’s meant to prepare your body for the year ahead. Players not competing for a roster spot, like Lambert, can make an early first impression on coaches that’ll come to mind later in the year. Lambert has proven he belongs in Triple-A to start this coming season. By mid-season or earlier, the Mets might want to consider him for the major league roster, too.

But what good is it for him to face barely above A-Ball players? He should be blowing them away with fastballs made of raw eggs.

In spring training, where the points don’t matter and the roles can be a little funky, it wouldn’t hurt to see Lambert face some more seasoned professionals rather than build up his spring training stats.

Just about everything that goes on in the preseason should be taken with a grain of salt. Lambert going up against proven big leaguers won’t elevate his chances any further, but it can at least give the team a better idea of anything he can work on aside from mastering his control. Lambert has the capacity to be one of the more important Mets relievers as soon as this year. Give the kid a man’s challenge.