Jose Butto continues to provide the Mets with consistency on the mound

On Thursday afternoon, in what felt like a must-win situation for the New York Mets, starting pitcher Jose Butto stepped up in a huge way with his strong start and by also giving the Mets' taxed bullpen a much-needed breather after heavy usage in game one of their doubleheader. It was another positive sign in Butto's development as he seems to find his footing at the Major League level.

Butto had a strong final month of the season last year with the Mets and he carried that momentum on the mound into Spring Training as well. While there isn't current room for Butto on the Mets roster, if he continues to pitch as well as he has recently, it will be tougher and tougher for the front office to keep him off the 26-man roster.

Jose Butto is keeping his performances in the front of the minds of the Mets front office

On Thursday, when the Mets needed it most, he threw 90 pitches with six strikeouts, and three walks and had allowed only one run. Butto made the most of his opportunity after ending the final month of the 2023 season with a 3.29 ERA over five starts and had allowed hitters to a lowly .208 batting average against him.

This success shouldn't come as much of a shock to many in the organization, as Butto was ranked as high as the Mets' 12th prospect according to MLB.com back in 2022. While there are many high-upside arms currently in the Mets minor league system, it can be easy to get Butto lost in that shuffle. His pitching arsenal has proven to be Major League-ready, and he could arguably be in the back of some teams' starting rotations around the league.

But for now, Butto has firmly established himself as the Mets' sixth starter if they ever need an extra arm in the starting rotation with his performances. Also with his increasing consistency in quality starts, he will continue to have his name in the mix for a starting five spot in Queens.