Mets top prospect fans can no longer ignore talks ascension, battle vs Konnor Griffin

New York Mets pitching prospect Will Watson has been one of the sneakiest risers up New York's pipeline this season. He broke into MLB Pipeline's top 30 at No. 29 in late April following Luisangel Acuña's graduation from prospect status. He was No. 17 by the end of July and moved up again to No. 11 in midseason re-rankings.

It's not hard to see why. Watson, a seventh-round pick out of USC last year, has already exceeded expectations. He was promoted to High-A Brooklyn in early June after putting up a 3.66 ERA in 10 appearances (eight starts) for Low-A St. Lucie, and he's only gotten better since pulling up to Coney Island. Through his Aug. 17 start against the Hub City Spartanburgers, he has a 1.87 ERA in 57 2/3 innings and 72 strikeouts to 26 walks. Seven of his 12 starts for Brooklyn so far have been scoreless.

In an exclusive interview with Rising Apple, Watson credited his ascent and quick adjustment to High-A to simply finding his sea legs in professional baseball.

“I think [I would credit it to] just being more comfortable. A little bit more on the mental game, just understanding that if I do fail I can bounce back out there next week and get right back out there next week. I think that's just part of baseball," he said. "I think just being more comfortable up here and getting my feet under me during the season. And I really love the group of coaches up here, and the group of guys up here. We hold each other accountable and we want each other to win and that helps a ton."

Watson followed pitching coach Jordan Kraus from St. Lucie to Brooklyn upon his June promotion, and said that the continuity has helped make the team feel like a family, a characteristic Watson credits to Mets' organization as a whole.

"I think that's something the Mets take pride in. I was actually talking with (Mets minor league pitching coordinator) Kyle Rogers about this yesterday, the Mets really take pride in bringing everyone together, making us a family still. Even though it is professional baseball, we still really try to make everyone as close as possible."

Fast-rising Mets pitching prospect Will Watson deserves your attention after stunning start in High-A Brooklyn

Watson, who grew up in Washington state as a Mariners fan, told SNY in May that he'd been keeping a close eye on Seattle All-Star Bryan Woo (he put Woo on his Mt. Rushmore of baseball players alongside Francisco Lindor, Ichiro, and Mike Trout). Both Watson and Woo have potent fastballs they primarily depend upon in a five-pitch mix. "I've not really noticed hitters being comfortable with it," Watson said of the fastball. "They take it a lot. I feel like they’re looking for off-speed with me."

Offspeed includes includes a slider that he started developing this year while he was still in St. Lucie. According to Prospect Savant, it has a nice 35.71% whiff rate. He told SNY that he hadn't found the right audience for that pitch quite yet, but has since been able to find a better feel for it.

"I feel like I've been comfortable with where I've been throwing it, how hard I've been throwing it. And I feel like I've been able to place it where I want it for the most part. I've been working on it a ton, especially in my bullpens. But it's been really comfortable for me trying to get the whiffs. It's been more of a traditional slider, where it's not a small gyro, it's a bit bigger, but I think that helps generate the whiffs on it."

That slider was a huge part of his July 25 battle against the Greensboro Grasshoppers and new No. 1 overall prospect Konnor Griffin, who Watson admitted was the toughest at-bat of his professional career so far.

"He's a good presence in the box, looks like he knows what he's doing. He's huntin’ for something. Against that whole team in general, I was just…'this is the team that you’ve really gotta lock in for.' Everyone's locked in for every pitch, so if you're not, then they'll take advantage of that. [Griffin] especially, I feel like he goes about his work the right way and he was the guy I really wanted to get out that game. I made sure I got it."

Griffin went 0-2 against Watson with a swinging strikeout on three pitches.

Watson is keeping himself grounded in regard to his future this season and hopeful major league career. When asked who he'd be. most excited to face in the majors, he said "any of them," and emphasized that he's keeping his attention on his work for the Cyclones.

"We're getting toward the end of the season and we've had a lot of promotions and guys going up, but as nice as that would be, I already did get a promotion this year and I feel like I've been throwing well, but just want to keep winning for Brooklyn. If that promotion comes, great, but I just want to keep helping these boys win."

He's also been able to take advantage of his surroundings since arriving in Brooklyn. We had to ask what he thought of a classic Nathan's hot dog, he said, "Nathan's Hot Dogs, that's the spot. Myself a couple of other boys, we went to watch the hot dog eating competition (and 17-time Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest Champion Joey Chestnut), so that was a pretty fun experience. It was before a game too, so we were like, 'we gotta go watch it.' It was cool. Coney Island's an interesting spot, for sure, but the crowds that we generate at the stadium, it's fun."

Watson is staying humble and keeping his head down, but it's becoming impossible not to notice how quickly he's coming up through the organization. He's still just 22 and is expected to land in the majors in 2027, but if he keeps doing what he's doing right now, he could be in Queens sooner than you'd think.