3 Mets pitching prospects they may have struck gold within the fifth round or later

This former fifth-round pick has been some of the best news for the Mets in 2023

Christian Scott entered the 2023 season as a top-30 borderline prospect within the Mets organization. Today, his work within the Mets' minor league circuit ranks him as the No. 12 prospect in the organization and No. 3 among pitchers, according to MLB Pipeline.

Scott is another product of the 2021 draft that is generating a lot of promise for the Mets, but his story is very different from that of Mike Vasil. Scott was ranked by MLB Pipeline ahead of the draft as the No. 228 prospect, but the Mets selected him at No. 142.

For the MLB experts, Christian Scott had in his arsenal a good fastball and then a couple of pitches with limited potential that led them to believe that he would only be a bullpen depth pitcher due to a lack of dominance and command. However, the Mets saw something they could work with in his stuff to push his delivery and shooting to a higher level.

Scott is one, if not the pitcher with the most swing-and-miss potential in the entire Mets farm system. His efforts over the years have paid off thanks to a fastball that touches 98 mph, a change-up that manages to strike out lefties, and above all, a top slider within the system.

This young pitcher developed his slider with a new grip after watching videos of Max Scherzer, turning this pitch into a lethal weapon against right-handers. Between A, A+, and AA, Scott records around 11 strikeouts per nine innings against around 1.3 walks, displaying an elite command-and-control ratio.

However, Christian Scott has some limitations to be promoted as an MLB starter, his arsenal. His third pitch, the change-up, needs to be refined, and the development of a fourth pitch would be ideal. In any case, in models like the Tampa Bay Rays team, pitchers with similar stuff have managed to establish themselves in MLB as a limited innings starter but with wide dominance and stellarity.

If Scott ends up as a starter or as a top MLB reliever with the Mets, it is thanks to the credit that the team's scouting team has for having identified a talent like this pitcher in time. The Mets found a youngster who carries the momentum to be a bottom-of-the-rotation starter as early as 2024.