3 Mets minor leaguers who should have numbers begging for an MLB promotion but don't

April is unbelievably almost already over. The story of the 2024 New York Mets was, for many, a transitional year where we hardly get to know many of the newcomers before they’re sent packing. As it turns out, the big league team is pretty good.

Plans of focusing on the minor leaguers have fallen to the backburner. Some of those near-MLB ready guys are actually further away from the show than originally expected.

By the time April was over, many were expecting these three to have the kinds of numbers where an MLB promotion couldn’t be denied. Unfortunately, they’ve limped out of the gate and we’ll have to wait a little while longer to see them at Citi Field.

1) Nate Lavender

You either came into the year knowing him or you learned about the lefty in spring training. Whenever he joined your consciousness, you’re eager to see what Nate Lavender can do on a regular basis in blue and orange. He showed plenty in the preseason to earn a spot on the big league roster. Because the Mets were able to load up on other options, he was never a serious consideration.

Lavender practically graduated from Triple-A last year, pitching to a 3.27 ERA in 44 innings of work. Asking the fast-rising relief prospect to do much more is a fool’s errand.

In year two with Syracuse, Lavender hasn’t started off so great. Through 7 innings he had a 3.86 ERA which isn’t bad except for all of the walks. He has 7 of them. Tagged for a pair of home runs as well, Lavender has some areas to work on before getting called up.

The Mets haven’t hesitated to make roster moves this year. The 40-man roster and 26-man roster is constantly changing and so far they’ve ignored Lavender. Instead, they’ve opted for older and more experienced arms. Lavender will eventually get there but he needs to show more.

3) Mike Vasil

There are a couple of notable prospects who could be considered for this third spot. Drew Gilbert’s injury got in the way of him doing much of anything. Seemingly healthy yet arguably the least effective pitcher down there is Mike Vasil. It has been an extremely disappointing beginning for him. Has he hit some sort of a Triple-A wall?

Vasil struggled in 16 starts with Syracuse last season, finishing with a 5.30 ERA. Several of the metrics rated well including walks and strikeouts. This year has been much different. The 11.20 ERA in 4 starts with a walk rate of 5.3 per 9 and strikeouts at 6.6 per 9 clearly show something is going haywire. Vasil has surrendered 5 home runs and 23 hits through those first 13.2 innings of work.

Vasil has now fallen behind Christian Scott on everyone’s radar and could soon see some of the other notable pitching prospects overtake him on the depth chart. Teammate Dom Hamel hasn’t been terrific either but with an ERA almost only half as high as Vasil and far more strikeouts in fewer innings, it’s clear who is buried deeper.

Fortunately, the Mets probably weren’t counting on Vasil to do a whole lot this year. They began the year with a bunch of starting pitching options in the minors, having already turned to Jose Butto for a couple of outings. Joey Lucchesi should be next in line for an opportunity.

As for Vasil, he’s in a spot where the 2024 season might be nothing but innings for Syracuse.