QUEENS, NY — There is a part of Carlos Mendoza that still can’t believe that half of his rotation is comprised of the New York Mets’ top three pitching prospects, Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong with less than three weeks to go in the regular season.
Even more unbelievable is that the three young arms — Sproat and McLean are 24, Tong is 22 — are carrying New York’s starting rotation as it clings to the third and final National League Wild Card spot with 15 games left to play.
The new iteration of Generation K is getting the ball for the Mets’ three-game set at Citi Field against the Texas Rangers. Tong starts Friday night against old friend Jacob deGrom, Sproat goes Saturday, and McLean goes Sunday in hopes of stopping a six-game losing streak and a 4-9 stretch that has seen their cushion for that last playoff spot shrink to just 1.5 games over the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants entering Friday night.
“Crazy? Probably,” Mendoza said when asked if he envisioned leaning on the young trio of righties at this time of the year. “If you would’ve asked me a couple months ago that all three of them were going to be here, I probably would’ve said that one of them might be here.
“Gotta give them credit. Trust and believe in them.”
So far, they have earned that trust. McLean has been the Mets’ ace since his arrival last month, going 4-1 with a 1.42 ERA and 33 strikeouts in five starts. Tong has shown promising stuff in his first two pro outings, starting with one run on six hits and six strikeouts in five innings in his debut against the Miami Marlins.
Even Sproat excelled in his debut on Sunday against the Reds, going 5.1 hitless innings before getting saddled with a hard-luck loss thanks to a punchless Mets offense.
“My confidence level is high,” Mendoza said. “We trust these guys, but at the same time, Jonah is making his third one, Sproat is about to make his second one. But hey, they understand where we’re at.”
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