Rising Mets pitching prospect is screaming elite with his early 2024 results

The New York Mets have various rising stars that are flourishing as of recently. Minor leaguer- top 30 prospect pitcher Brandon Sproat has been displaying his value in elite style to start the season. 

The 23-year-old right-hander, Sproat, started the year in high-A ball and it very well looks like he will be climbing the ranks in near time. Sproat was drafted in 2023 in the second round, 56th overall by the Mets. He attended the University of Florida where completed four years with spectacular numbers. 

Mets prospect Brandon Sproat shoved in his last outing against the Aberdeen IronBirds 

The Brooklyn Cyclones handed Sproat the pearl, as he took the mound at home to face the Aberdeen IronBirds, the high-A affiliates of the Baltimore Orioles. Needless to say, his final line was very attractive and the end result of the game was a product of dominance. 

Sproat threw five strong innings of shutout baseball, affording no runs, one hit, four walks, and an impressive eight strikeouts. After five innings, two relievers were summoned to secure the 2-0 shutout victory, improving Sproat’s win-loss- record to 2-0. 

What makes prospect Brandon Sproat elite?

Let’s start with the totality of his statistics so far in the season. In four games started, the righty maintains a 1.000 win-loss percentage with a perfect 2-0 record in 19.2 innings. He currently holds an ERA of 0.92, keeping the sticks tamed. He’s only given up 10 hits in those innings of work with three runs, two being earned. He’s struck out 25 bats and has walked 13. 

Sproat’s pitching foundation is what solidified his tools to be successful in professional baseball. His time as a Gator in the NCAA prepared his profile and increased his stock for the draft, where the Mets gained a more improved pitcher the second time around. What was more important about this was the fact that areas of his performance were addressed and refined. 

Command and pitch selection was a concern in his mid-college career, and this continued over to the 2022 draft, where he decided to finish college and develop his craft. His command has improved drastically and his confidence to work his pitch arsenal has expanded in the right direction. 

The 6’3” 215 lbs powerhouse is highly physical and can throw a baseball. His delivery is repeated well and he’s fairly composed in his outings. One pattern that was fixed from college to now was his approach when in the hole. The approach caused more of an effort to spot up and took away from his delivery and fundamentals. The righty has now learned to throw with purpose and to trust his fastball in sticky situations. 

Sproat has a four-pitch pallet led by a four-seam heater. The fastball was observed at a max of 101 mph at the end of his college career. The fastball currently has good bite and he can locate the corners well; he’s been mixing in more two-seamers that touch a consistent 96-98 mph. 

His changeup can be at par with the slider for an out-pitch. The change runs in on righties and can work well against lefties depending on where it starts. He’s started counts with a changeup sitting 12-14 mph lower than the fastball. The slider is the default put-out option is his slider due to the similar movement as the changeup, but lives mid to late 80s mph. His elite level comes from the ability to effectively use his pitch arsenal. He has good IQ on the mound and can navigate counts strategically.