4 pitchers with the best chance to make a climb on the depth chart during spring training

3) Nate Lavender

Nate Lavender can quickly become one of the more important Mets prospects in 2024. A left-handed reliever, all of the some pluses for Danny Young apply here with a bunch of bonuses added on. Lavender will pitch all of this coming year at 24-years-old. He has been spectacular in his professional career which began back in 2021. This is the season when the Mets should reward him with some big league innings.

Lavender first caught attention when he pitched to a 1.70 ERA in 2022 in 47.2 innings of work at A-Ball and High-A. Last year, he followed it up with another impressive campaign. After just 10.1 innings in Double-A, he was promoted to Triple-A. The overall totals include a 4-3 record and 2.98 ERA in 54.1 innings of work.

Lavender has been a high strikeout pitcher, averaging 13.7 per 9. Control has been problematic, but not enough where he’ll fall out of contention for a major league opportunity. At 4.5 walks per 9, it’s something to work on but not a huge detriment at the moment. Consider some of those walks nothing more than singles he would have otherwise given up.

The Mets starting pitching prospects are the far more exciting ones heading into the year, but don’t sleep on Lavender. It takes a village of relief pitchers to get through a full season. Lavender should be one of those villagers they turn to as long as he doesn’t hit a wall at the start of this season. A strong spring will, at the very least, put him in contention for an early promotion.