There are a lot of connections between the New York Mets and the University of Florida. Three current Mets played for the Gators in college, including star first baseman Pete Alonso and rookie starting pitcher Christian Scott, which is a solid foundation for a Gainesville to Flushing pipeline. Another prominent member of that pipeline is pitching prospect Brandon Sproat, who is the focus of this week's edition of Minor League Mondays.
Sproat, 23, has been on the Mets' radar for a long time. The organization selected Sproat in the third round of the 2022 draft but couldn't reach a deal with him as Sproat opted to return to school to focus on improving his draft stock. That choice was a wise one as Sproat improved his draft position to the second round, allowing the Mets to choose him again, which required his permission based on the rules of the draft process.
The Mets opted not to have Sproat pitch in the minors during the 2023 season to allow him to rest his arm after tossing 106.1 innings for Florida during the collegiate season. Sproat's raw stuff is very impressive as his fastball can touch 101 miles per hour but usually sits between 94-98 miles per hour. The secondary offerings in Sproat's repertoire are highlighed by an upper 80s changeup and a mid 80s slider, with a rarely-used curveball as the fourth pitch in his arsenal.
The Mets assigned Sproat to High-A Brooklyn to begin the 2024 campaign and he has dominated that level, going 2-1 with a 1.07 ERA in six appearances (including five starts) for the Cyclones. Sproat posted an outstanding 33 strikeouts in 25.1 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .141 batting average against him, showcasing how he was dominating hitters in High-A ball.
In what has become a trend under new President of Baseball Operations David Stearns, Sproat's strong start to the season has led to a quick promotion to AA Binghamton. The more advanced competition should be a good test for Sproat, who has already demonstrated mastery over the High-A level, and the biggest thing the Mets will need to watch from Sproat is improved command.
Walks have been an issue for Sproat since his college days, when he walked 10.3 percent of hitters he faced at Florida in 2023. Sproat walked 16 batters in Brooklyn, which is a 15.6 percent walk rate given the 102 batters he faced, and that will need to improve before he is a consideration to reach the major leagues.
The good news for Sproat is that there should really be no rush for him to reach the majors. Stearns built a deep reserve of starting pitching as the big league rotation (including Scott) is full while three starters (Kodai Senga, Tylor Megill and David Peterson) are working their way back from various injuries. Joey Lucchesi and Max Kranick remain at AAA Syracuse as big-league caliber depth while fellow prospects Dominic Hamel, Mike Vasil and Blade Tidwell all appear to be closer to the bigs than Sproat is at this point.
Expect to see Sproat, who is rated as the Mets' 13th-best prospect according to MLB.com, spend the majority of this season with Binghamton. The jump from A-ball to AA is often considered the most difficult leap a prospect faces in the minor leagues so it will be interesting to see how Sproat adjusts to more advanced competition over the summer.
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