3 valuable Mets lessons from their 4-4 road trip through D.C. and Pittsburgh

2. Christian Scott deserves a permanent spot in the rotation

Christian Scott has yet to record his first major league win, but I'm telling you now — get your seat on the bandwagon before it fills up. The rookie has really good stuff and a great disposition on the mound, and though the Mets mostly haven't done him any favors by giving him a whole lot of run support (somewhere in Texas, Jacob deGrom is nodding ruefully in solidarity), he's consistently done enough to give the team a chance to win.

Scott pitched twice during the recently-completed road trip, his first two starts in the big leagues since late May. He didn't get the loss on Wednesday, but his performance was a bit rough in the end, as this time the Mets' bats actually did spot him a 5-0 lead. Scott pitched well through five innings, but came undone in the sixth by giving up a couple of singles and a three-run homer to Luis Garcia Jr.

This is a resilient rookie, though, and he rebounded with a tremendous effort in Pittsburgh on Monday. Other than an Oneil Cruz two-run homer in the fourth (a forgivable offense, to be sure), Scott was outstanding. He threw 53 of his 77 pitches for strikes, and the Cruz homer was the only hit he allowed on the day. He certainly deserved better than getting pulled with two outs in the sixth so that he didn't exceed Carlos Mendoza's pitch count limit, only to see the Pirates immediately demolish the Mets' bullpen to the tune of five runs in the inning, but that doesn't change the fact that Scott proved that he belongs to be locked into a spot in the rotation going forward.

Christian Scott is going to be an important part of this team for years to come, and if the Mets hope to stay in the playoff race, there aren't five starters in the organization better equipped to keep them there than he is. He needs to stay in the rotation.