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NY Mets prospect trio couldn’t have had a louder unanimous comeback to David Stearns

The three are showing the Mets exactly why each is worth a whirl at the MLB level.
ByTim Boyle|
Washington Nationals v New York Mets
Washington Nationals v New York Mets | Christopher Pasatieri/GettyImages

Seeking some starting pitching help this weekend, the New York Mets turned to Justin Hagenman on Friday against the New York Yankees to get things started. Things worked out in the end despite back-to-back home runs to lead things off. Credit the Mets offense for picking him up quickly and helping the team avoid a loss in game one of their Subway Series, holiday edition.

Leading up to the series, David Stearns calmly shot down the idea of calling up a prospect for a spot start. Thoughts of the team summoning Nolan McLean or Brandon Sproat from Triple-A or even Jonah Tong from Double-A up to the majors on Friday or Sunday evaporated quickly. All three have already pitched. Their performances couldn’t have gone much better.

Available Mets prospect trio couldn’t have done much better to prove themselves to David Stearns

It began with McLean on Thursday. The likeliest of the three to get called up because of how his season is going and the talent level he’s up against, he responded by striking out 10 batters in 5 innings of work. He allowed 7 hits and 2 earned runs while walking just one.

Sproat followed up the Fourth of July with fireworks of his own. Lasting 5 innings as well, he struck out 8. He didn’t allow a run on 2 hits and 1 walk. His season is beginning to turn around for the best, just in time for a bold late-season call-up many would like to see even if it is merely as bullpen help for the Mets down the stretch.

Finally, there’s Tong. The biggest longshot of the three because he is only in Double-A, he added 10 more strikeouts to the log book for an astonishing 125 through 78.2 innings. His ERA is at 1.83, making it harder to justify keeping him in Binghamton.

Hesitation to call up any of these three is understandable to an extent and yet becoming increasingly more difficult to comprehend with how well they’ve done and how desperate the Mets are for innings. It remains a wise decision to at least see what at least one of them can do (McLean making the most sense) against MLB hitters. These young players can be helpful in a variety of roles. Find out exactly how helpful before the trade deadline passes and you’re stuck with what you already have or other team’s scraps.

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