Exciting NY Mets prospects get a reality check in early season beating

Despite typically receiving less fanfare than its major league counterpart, Triple-A Opening Day is a big event for many of MLB's top prospects. For the New York Mets, many of their Top 30 prospects will be starting the year in Syracuse including Ryan Lambert and Jonah Tong, who was optioned in early March. The plan was seemingly to prepare these two young pitchers for major league action later in the year but their most recent outings weren't exactly encouraging.

Jonah Tong and Ryan Lambert will need some more time in Triple-A before they're ready to be called up

The Syracuse Mets played host to the Toledo Mud Hens in the second of a five-game series and it was a one-sided affair in favor of the Mud Hens, who scored a total of 17 runs on their way to victory. Seven of these runs came in the first inning while Jonah Tong was on the mound. In total, he threw 60 pitches but got through just 1.2 innings, the signs of an ugly start.

Control was a key issue for him. He issued three walks and constantly found himself behind in counts, culminating in strikes thrown too close to the heart of the zone. Of the four hits he surrendered, three were doubles and one was a home run to Wenceel Pérez off of a 93.6 mph fastball.

In fact, control has been an issue for him in both of his starts so far. Of the 73 total pitches he threw in his first four-inning start, just 31 landed in the strike zone and only 37.1% of his four-seam fastballs were strikes. This can work if the chase rate is high but opposing hitters are chasing just 26.2% of the time. His inability to throw strikes is causing him to get behind in counts, work through longer innings, and rapidly see diminished stuff.

Ryan Lambert, the Mets' No. 17 prospect, fared slightly better against Toledo. He struck out three but also gave up a double and a triple. Like Tong, he has also struggled immensely to locate his pitches. In his first start, he gave up three walks and hit a batter, landing his four-seam fastball in the strike zone just once out of 11 pitches.

The ability to regularly throw strikes is often what ends up separating those who make it to the show and those that languish in minor league purgatory. Regardless of how impressive a pitcher's velocity or movement is, it's impossible to be productive while giving up walks and grooving pitches down the middle.

Both prospects are still young and it's early enough in the season to expect that there may still be kinks to iron out. However, the gap between where they're currently at and the big leagues seems far too wide to cross in anything less than several months.

For Lambert, this is an expected bump in his development as he spent most of last year in Double-A. His performance in spring training was impressive enough for some to wonder if he should be fast-tracked to the majors but based on what he has done in Triple-A so far, he's still a diamond in the rough.

For Tong, the outlook seems gloomier than ever. The hype behind him may have reached a fever pitch last year but the new reality is that there's significant work to be done before he can earn a spot in a crowded Mets rotation.