Mets prospect sent a reminder to the MLB club why he's an emergency button to push

While the New York Mets were busy suiting up for what would become a win against the Los Angeles Angels, pitching prospect Brandon Sproat was mowing down hitters like he wanted to get the game over with before the rain came. The clouds did eventually open up and the game between the Binghamton Rumble Ponies and New Hampshire Fisher Cats experienced a short delay.

But before running for cover to escape the falling water from the sky, fans in attendance got to see Sproat put on a terrific display. Highlighting it was something no MLB pitcher has ever done.

Sproat would pitch 5 innings, give up 2 hits, and fan 13 total batters. The 11 straight strikeouts was how he finished off the performance. It took him 81 pitches with 57 strikes to make some history. As things tend to go, Sean Reid-Foley gave up 3 runs without retiring a batter immediately in relief of Sproat and the rising prospect took a no-decision from the game.

Brandon Sproat made another case that he should be in consideration for a Mets call-up

No win, no problem. The Mets got a reminder of what a superb emergency button they have sitting in the minor leagues.

The Mets do need to be cautious about how much they use Sproat. His 24th birthday upon him next month, asking him for emergency starts or appearances out of the bullpen down the stretch isn’t so outrageous. An inning thrown is an inning thrown whether it’s mowing down Fisher Cats, Phillies, or Braves.

Sproat didn’t have the greatest July, going 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA in 3 starts. It’s the only month this year with an ERA above 1.99 and yet some of his other numbers from those three stars come out looking strong. He still had a 0.95 WHIP and 12.1 strikeouts per 9. Batters hit .179/.242/.321 against him in the month. Only the slugging percentage set a new season-high for a month.

Since getting to Double-A, Sproat has been given a chance to throw up to 93 pitches. Routinely getting 5, 6, or even more days of rest in between starts, his first professional season hasn’t required him to carry a huge load nor should it have ever been about this.

The Mets have done some bold things this year and Sproat, in some capacity on the major league roster, would be the next exciting step. The bullpen hasn’t been as big of an issue lately and with added reinforcements at the trade deadline, this is an emergency button that might gather dust.