Mets fans treated to 2015 vibes with another prospect joining the pennant race

It’s Jose Butto who will get the start for the New York Mets on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies. Less than a week after Brett Baty made his MLB debut against the Atlanta Braves, the Mets turn to their farm system for a little more assistance.

Injuries have forced New York into reaching into their farm system further. They’ve lost Eduardo Escobar and Luis Guillorme to the IL which led to Baty’s promotion. In Butto’s case, we can blame a doubleheader and Taijuan Walker needing a little more rest before he takes the hill again.

Things are starting to feel a little familiar. Is anyone else getting 2015 vibes?

Mets prospects are suddenly having an impact in the pennant race

Before Baty, the Mets weren’t relying heavily on legitimate prospects to help them this year. Sure, we saw a little bit of Khalil Lee and Nick Plummer earlier this year. A couple of younger arms have been up and down from the minors to the majors as well.

The sudden appearance of some highly-regarded Mets minor leaguers is sure to give fans nostalgia for 2015. That was a year featuring debuts from Noah Syndergaard, Steven Matz, and Michael Conforto to name just a few. This year’s Mets club never seemed to have such a plan. It took them until mid-August to call up any significant prospect for regular action. Baty’s promotion was completely unexpected while Butto’s seemed to stroll up a little slower. Mets fans already knew there wasn’t any obvious pitcher on the depth chart behind the usual suspects. Already on the 40-man roster, it made sense to call upon him.

Fans won’t need to raise their expectations exponentially for Butto as this is probably a one-and-done situation. In his debut start, we can only hope he keeps the team in the game and can eat up at least a few innings.

The ship should right for the Mets after this one game. They’ll have an off day on Wednesday and can keep both David Peterson and Trevor Williams in the rotation if Walker doesn’t return healthy.

The timing of the Mets’ need to send up the Butto Signal to call upon one of their top prospects had everything to do with injuries and not so much about his performance. They’re still without Carlos Carrasco. Tylor Megill hasn’t come back either. A doubleheader eliminated a chance at a bullpen game.

With limited options to where they can turn, it’s Butto’s turn to get the debut out of the way and see if there’s some Sunday magic in his arm.