1 NY Mets prospect who will play in the majors more than expected in 2025

It’s going to be a big year for several New York Mets prospects. Several with their rookie status still intact despite some MLB experience will get to take regular hacks at the big league level. Several pitchers should get a closer look, maybe even for an extended period of time. It should be an “all-hands-on-deck” type of operation in Queens with everyone and anyone showing signs of life becoming available to contribute.

You know most of the names who’ll make the jump from the minors to the majors. One prospect flying under the radar who could play far more than expected is Trey McLoughlin.

A career minor league relief pitcher with the exception of two starts which we can only imagine were abbreviated ones, he’s a 25-year-old righty who has been mostly successful in his 165.2 innings on the farm. As the Mets will eventually turn to some assistance in the bullpen, an optional reliever like McLoughlin should get his chance as long as he’s doing his job.

Why we should expect Trey McLoughlin to be a featured player in the Mets bullpen

Although off of the 40-man roster and competing against several optional guys already in the mix for innings, injuries are bound to happen and so will underperformances. Veterans brought in from the outside won’t be summoned to the majors unless there’s an idea of possibly keeping them around for an extended period of time. In the mix of optional relievers who’ll go back and forth from Syracuse to Flushing, McLoughlin can have his place.

This is a guy with a career 3.37 ERA in the minors who successfully pitched to a 1.89 ERA last year in Double-A. Walks have increased for him, reaching 4.5 per 9 last year combined in his stay in Double-A and limited action in Triple-A. It came with a notable strikeout rate of 10.6 per 9.  He relies heavily on his slider, but FanGraphs rates his splitter as his best pitch.

Last May, FanGraphs ranked him as the organization’s 24th best prospect. If he drops in any updated ranking, it won’t be because of his performance in 2024 but rather because the team added new players in the draft and through the international signing period. They had him ranked higher than Mike Vasil, Tyler Stuart, and while not shocking but notable, Dedniel Nunez.

It won’t be immediate and it might not even be more than a dozen innings or so when we do see McLoughlin pitch in the majors this coming year. But it’ll be more than anticipated. It takes a village to raise a child. It takes an entire army of pitchers to get through an MLB season. Fans got a glimpse of him this spring with an impressive 1 earned run allowed in 6 innings to go along with 9 strikeouts. He could be one of the first in line not on the 40-man roster to have his chance.