The 3 best Mets prospects who should begin in AAA and 1 prediction for each of them

3. Christian Scott will make his debut by Memorial Day.

Except for 2000 and 2006, every great Mets team has won games on the backs of homegrown starting pitching. This mindset seems to be coming back with the emergence of a few young pitchers coming through the pipeline. The most impressive of the bunch in 2023 was right-hander Christian Scott, who was selected in the 5th round of the 2021 draft. Originally drafted as a relief pitcher at the University of Florida, Scott's fastball and slider mix have earned him enough credibility to be considered a top 101 prospect in baseball according to PECOTA.

After struggling in a swing role at Single-A St. Lucie in 2022, Scott was entrusted with a permanent starting position at High-A Brooklyn to start in 2023. He posted a 2.28 ERA in 23.2 innings pitched for Brooklyn, earning him a promotion to AA Binghamton. From there, Scott pitched to a 2.47 ERA in 62 innings with 77 strikeouts and just 8 walks. His immense pitch control coupled with the spin rate and velocity uptick on both his fastball and slider have earned Scott name recognition throughout the industry.

The Mets' starting pitching staff has lots of names with very few guarantees. Aside from Kodai Senga, it's hard to make the argument the team's rotation and 40-man roster depth are strong enough to sustain a 162-game schedule. Furthermore, the offseason additions of Adrian Houser, Scott Madea, and Luis Severino can all become free agents and have not proven to make 30 starts in the past few seasons. Add in the fact Senga is used to pitching every 6th day, the Mets will rely on prospects from AAA to contribute in a significant way. Scouts have predicted Scott to be the first Mets pitching prospect to make his debut in 2024. Should the rotation falter behind Senga, expect Scott to be promoted earlier rather than later.