Unranked NY Mets prospect from the same school as Ryan Lambert is on the rise, too

The New York Mets' pitching development is now being lauded as one of the best in the sport. It's definitely showing with two of their 2024 draft picks from the University of Oklahoma. Eighth-round pick Ryan Lambert broke out in a big way in 2025 and is now one of their top 30 prospects. However, don't overlook his teammate, both in the minor leagues this season and in college, fellow right-hander Brendan Girton.

Lambert is a relief-only prospect, but he excelled in that role in 2025. Over 50 innings of work between High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton, Lambert put up a 1.62 ERA, 2.13 FIP, and 1.16 WHIP. The right-hander struck out nearly 40% of opponents with an eye-popping 39.5% K%, and only allowed a single home run all year. Like most hard-throwing relief prospects, Lambert did struggle with command, with a 13.2% walk rate.

Right now, Lambert is the Mets' 22nd-best prospect by MLB Pipeline. He is a two-pitch pitcher whose fastball runs up into the upper-90s and can reach triple digits. Pipeline is extremely bullish on his fastball's potential, as they project with 70-grade potential. His mid-to-upper-80s slider is his secondary offering that has the potential to be an above-average pitch. Lambert excelled in Double-A despite his control issues, so hopefully he can continue to fool enough batters without getting punished for it.

Don't overlook New York Mets pitching prospects Brenden Girton and Ryan Lambert.

Brendan Girton, meanwhile, pitched exceptionally well. He tossed 87 innings between High-A and Double-A, working to a strong 3.10 ERA, 3.16 FIP, and 1.16 WHIP. The right-hander got plenty of K's, with a 27.7% strikeout percentage. Home runs were not an issue for Girton either. He allowed only three, resulting in an HR/9 of 0.31. Girton's 11% free pass rate may not look great on paper; however, the league average rate in the South Atlantic League (High-A) was 10.7%, and the average BB% in the Eastern League (Double-A) was 10.1% in 2025. 

You won't find Girton on any top Mets prospect lists. MLB Pipeline doesn't rank him among the organization's top 30, and Baseball America didn't include him on their top ten Mets list. But despite that, Girton ranked top 150 in Stuff+, per BA. At 114, he was tied with Mets rookie standout Nolan McLean and above other pitchers who showed a ton of promise in MLB this season, like Cam Schlittler and Bubba Chandler. This is a stat that seems to hold plenty of water for the Mets. According to BA's scouting report on Girton, he averages mid-90s with a flat approach, a mid-80s slider, and an upper-80s change-up.

Even though Girton is unranked, and the Mets have plenty of other top pitching prospects who stood out in 2025, he was among the best when it came to his overall performance. Among Mets minor leaguers who started at least 15 games, he had the third-best FIP, batting average against (.193), the sixth-best WHIP and strikeout rate, and the second-best HR/9 ratio. 

Lambert and Girton have broken out into two of the Mets' most underrated prospects. Given how they performed in 2025, they could go from college teammates to minor league teammates to Major League teammates all within two or three years. Hopefully, they live up to the potential they showed this year, and Lambert becomes a lockdown late-inning arm, and Girton can become another talented starting pitching option for the Mets.