CINCINNATI -- Saturday marked the beginning of a drafting and development celebration for the Mets. Jonah Tong, the organization’s fourth-ranked prospect, started against the Reds. The Mets scheduled their fifth-ranked prospect, Brandon Sproat, to follow in his big league debut on Sunday, and their third-ranked prospect, Nolan McLean, to go Monday in Philadelphia.
Those are the Mets’ three best pitching prospects, full stop. They represent not just the organization’s future, but its present. If the Mets hope to run deep into October for a second straight year, they’ll likely need to do so behind McLean, Sproat and Tong.
“We keep talking about having these three young kids pitching at this level and where we’re at in the season and the meaning of every game,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “And here they are.”
By Monday, the Mets will have used three consecutive starting pitchers with four or fewer career appearances for the first time in franchise history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. And while the beginning of that run didn’t unfold ideally in a 6-3 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park, that wasn’t a major issue for the Mets, who have built some margin for error in the National League Wild Card race.
Despite the defeat, their lead over the Giants held firm at four games, with the Reds lurking five back. The Mets have clinched the season series against San Francisco and own the tiebreaker. They are 2-3 against Cincinnati with their final matchup set for Sunday. (The loss did all but seal the NL East for the Phillies, who now lead that race by seven games with 20 to play for both teams.)
Barring a sizable collapse, then, the Mets should nestle into one of the NL’s final two Wild Card slots. Understanding that, they’ll spend the next three weeks determining what sorts of roles their rookie pitchers will play.
Through four career starts, McLean has already established himself as a likely October starter. Tong, who’s two years younger and less experienced against advanced competition, has more to prove.
The 22-year-old came out firing on Saturday, throwing almost exclusively mid-90s fastballs out of the chute. But the Reds caught up to them, beginning when Sal Stewart hit a two-run homer on a 96 mph fastball just above the strike zone. An inning later, Matt McLain sent a nearly identical pitch over the wall. Then, in the fourth, Austin Hays pulled a middle-in heater over the fence.
The trio of homers resulted in four runs for the Reds, who tacked on more against New York’s bullpen to secure the victory.
“That’s the difference between here and the Minor Leagues,” Mendoza said.
Specifically, Mendoza was referring to the first two homers; at Triple-A, the manager said, hitters likely would have popped up those fastballs. In the Majors, elite hitters can catch up to high heaters, meaning Tong will need to adjust his plan of attack. He began to do so with more offspeed pitches over his final three innings, retiring the final five batters he faced.
“I’ve been in these situations before,” Tong said. “I’ve had outings like this. It’s just another game.”
Tong’s next start against the Rangers should give the Mets more information about the longer-term adjustments he can make. In the interim, team officials will evaluate both McLean and Sproat, the latter of whom arrived in Cincinnati this weekend, family in tow, eager to make his first career start.
In the clubhouse before Friday’s game, Sproat spent a long moment chatting with Tong, his teammate at Triple-A Syracuse just last month. Since arriving, Sproat said, he’s been peppering both McLean and Tong with questions ranging from sartorial choices to the timing of team activities to the location of the weight room -- “the little stuff,” as he put it.
In a separate conversation, veteran outfielder Brandon Nimmo encouraged Sproat to take 15 seconds before his start to soak in the atmosphere of his debut. But Sproat can’t afford to spend too much time lingering on such emotions. In addition to making his Major League debut, he’s hoping to push the Mets into the playoffs. More than that, Sproat is trying to ensure he’ll be there if and when the Mets do play in October.
McLean and Tong are on similar missions. Consider it a crash course on the Majors for a new generation of Mets starting pitchers.
“The three guys, they’ve been together for quite a bit now,” Mendoza said. “For them to be here, I’m pretty sure that they’ll learn from each other.”