Top Mets pitching prospect Christian Scott brought his K game in his AAA debut

The Syracuse Mets were able to get their game in on Thursday while battling plenty of weather this week just as the big league version of themselves. On the mound was Christian Scott for his Triple-A debut.

Noted as the top pitching prospect on most lists and even considered a top 100 guy in all of baseball in some places, Scott brought his K game to Scranton with 9 strikeouts in 4 innings of work.

Far from perfect, Scott did allow 5 hits and 3 earned runs. Saved from a loss thanks to 4 runs from his team in the top of the ninth, Syracuse managed to edge out the New York Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate 5-4.

Mets prospect Christian Scott was impressive and so was Mark Vientos

The big hit in the ninth came off the bat of a familiar name and face. Mark Vientos. He drove in three including two on this double.

The demoted Mets DH is doing what everyone expected him to do in Triple-A. He’s 5 for 14 with a pair of doubles and a home run in his 4 games on the farm. Yet again, Vientos is proving he’s too good for Triple-A pitching.

Hitting for a high average and power at this level is nothing new for Vientos. He has been excellent there since 2021 when he first played 11 games for Syracuse. While some of his weaknesses do show, he has been a reliable offensive threat.

About those weaknesses. Vientos has struck out 4 times in 17 plate appearances. It’s hardly enough of a sample to see an improvement. Defensively, he played this game at first base which runs contrary to one of the reasons why he’s even in the minor leagues at the moment. He has started a pair of games at third base with another as the DH.

With Brett Baty playing well in the majors, it could be moot to constantly run Vientos out at third base. He should get some reps at first base but let’s limit it. The Mets could use him at third base much more than first. Of course, the growing fear of him playing first base a lot in the minors could be the team’s future plans of moving on from Pete Alonso.

Other notable prospects in Triple-A aren’t off to a hot start. Luisangel Acuna is 2 for 17 for a .118 batting average. Drew Gilbert is 2 for 16 with 8 strikeouts. It’s a little too reminiscent of what Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo have done for anyone’s liking. Each has homered but beyond that there is work to be done.