3 former Mets prospects who have fallen from grace

2) Former NY Mets prospect who has fallen from grace: Anthony Kay

Anthony Kay is a pitcher who was selected by the Mets in the first round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. He was taken 31st overall as the compensatory pick the Mets received for the Washington Nationals  signing free agent Daniel Murphy.  Before Kay could appear in a game for the Mets' organization, he underwent Tommy John surgery, putting him out for the entire 2017 season. Kay returned in 2018 and pitched for both the Columbia Fireflies and the St. Lucie Mets compiling a combined record of 7–11. Kay opened the 2019 season with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies before bring promoted to the Syracuse Mets. 

Anthony Kay was named to the 2019 All-Star Furfures Game, a showcase for young talent on their way up. He was ranked as the organization’s #13 prospect in 2017, the #14 prospect in 2018, and the #8 prospect in 2019 by MLB.com. Once again, Mets fans dreamed of the day when Anthony Kay would be on the mound at Citi Field, winning important games for the team. After all, everyone said that he was a can’t miss prospect.

On July 28, 2019 the Mets traded Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson to the Toronto Blue Jays for Marcus Stroman and cash considerations. Fans were once again upset about trading such highly regarded prospects for a middle of the rotation starting pitcher. Kay appeared in only 28 games for Toronto over parts of four seasons bouncing up and down from the minors but never was able to established himself. His total record for Toronto was 4-2 with a 5.48 ERA. After the 2022 season, Kay was put on waivers.

Anthony Kay was claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs but was soon designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the minor league Iowa Cubs. Kay is still there, working on his game and hoping that the Cubs or any other team will give him one more chance to pitch in major leagues.