QUEENS, NY — Brandon Sproat was thought to be the next logical promotion from Triple-A to bolster the New York Mets’ rotation for their stretch run. But the 24-year-old right-hander’s wait for a big-league call will have to wait a little longer.
The Mets opted for Jonah Tong to make his MLB debut on Friday against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field despite making only two starts in Triple-A after dominating the Double-A ranks for the first four months of the season.
The 22-year-old only needed those two starts to convince president of baseball operations David Stearns and manager Carlos Mendoza that he’s the guy. He threw 12.1 scoreless innings and struck out 15 while allowing eight hits.
“He dominated the minor leagues, and when you keep getting those types of performances, it’s hard to ignore,” Mendoza said. “There’s too much to like. We have to give the kid an opportunity.”
Sproat has been one of Triple-A’s most dominant pitchers in the second half of the season. In his last nine starts, he posted a 2.05 ERA with 57 strikeouts and a 0.850 WHIP in 48.1 innings pitched.
All signs initially pointed to him getting a call-up this week when the Mets had him come out of the bullpen for his scheduled start on Sunday. It did not go well, yielding seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in 3.2 innings of work.
That appears to have done nothing to sway Stearns or Mendoza’s decision — the Mets’ manager even going as far as to say that “this has got nothing to do with Sproat.” That’s how good Tong has been, though his schedule lines up better than Sproat’s.
Friday would be his next natural turn in the rotation in Triple-A while Sproat would have been going on four days’ rest.
“Brandon’s done a tremendous job, and he’s probably had as good a second half to a season as any pitcher in minor league baseball,” Stearns said. “He’s made some real adjustments, and he’s pitched great. We’ve talked about Brandon a lot, but this was really just what Jonah has accomplished, plus the timing of this, lining up, keeping him on turn on his normal rest progression… But we think Brandon’s got a really bright future, and we’re excited for it.”
