TODAY: The Mets have officially selected Scott’s contract, and also called right-hander Cole Sulser up from Triple-A. Right-hander Dedniel Nunez and left-hander Danny Young were optioned to Triple-A in the corresponding moves.
MAY 2: The Mets are planning to promote pitching prospect Christian Scott, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. McDaniel adds that Scott will likely make his debut on Saturday against the Rays. He’s not yet on the 40-man roster, so the Mets will need a corresponding move to add him.
Scott, 25 in June, was a fifth-round selection of the Mets in 2021 but he has raised his stock dramatically since then. In 2022, he tossed 58 2/3 innings between Single-A and High-A with a fairly pedestrian 4.45 ERA, but stronger underlying metrics. He struck out 29.5% of batters faced while walking 8.4%. If not for a .381 batting average on balls in play and 68.1% strand rate, he would have fared much better, which is why his FIP was 2.77 that year.
Last year, he eventually rose as high as Double-A, throwing 87 2/3 frames for the year with a 2.57 ERA. He struck out 31.9% of batters while limiting his walks to a tiny 3.6% rate. He came into 2024 ranked as the #98 prospect in baseball, according to FanGraphs. At ESPN, McDaniel had Scott at #99. Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin of FanGraphs highlighted that he converted his changeup into a splitter, adding a strong third option to what had previously been mostly a sinker/slider combo.
He didn’t crack the season-opening lists at either MLB Pipeline or Baseball America, but has vaulted himself up to #62 on BA’s most recent update. That huge jump is a reflection of the fact that Scott has been dominating this year, apart from some homer troubles. Through five Triple-A starts here in 2024, he has fanned 38.3% of opponents while limiting his walks to a 6.4% rate. But thanks to seven fly balls clearing the fences, he has a 3.20 ERA.
In addition to pushing him up prospect lists, that strong performance will get him to the majors. The Mets currently have a rotation of Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Jose Quintana, Adrian Houser and José Buttó. The only optionable guy in that group is Buttó, but he has been pitching well, with a 2.57 ERA on the year. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com speculates that Scott’s promotion might be related to the Mets playing 26 games in 27 days, so perhaps Scott’s promotion will just be a spot start to give the others a breather.
The length of Scott’s stay might also depend on other factors. Each of Kodai Senga, Tylor Megill and David Peterson are on the injured list and their respective returns will impact how the rotation is configured as they season rolls along. Senga and Peterson on on the 60-day IL and can’t return until late May but Megill recently began a rehab assignment and could therefore be an option in a few weeks. Scott’s performance in his big league debut will naturally impact the decisions as well.
Regardless of how long Scott spends in the bigs for the rest of the season, he won’t be able to earn a full year of service time since the campaign is already more than a month old. The new CBA allows top prospects to earn a full year even if called up late if they finish in the top two of Rookie of the Year voting, but that won’t apply to Scott. To be eligible for that benefit, a player has to start the year on two of three top 100 lists at ESPN, BA and MLB Pipeline, but Scott was only on one. That means the Mets can control him through the 2023 season, even if he sticks in the big leagues from here on out.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Hope Severino is okay
Any rumors of Severino injury? Huh
Nil.
Great, Scott.
No comma. Just Great Scott.
Great… Scott?
Great Scott TP.
You’re both wrong. It’s like this, with an exclamation point: Great Scott!
Punctuation at the end is optional.
You know what else is optional, Blue Baron? Your opinion.
Do you know what else is optional? Your opinion and the need for you to respond to mine.
If you don’t like what I have to say, ignore it.
Or better yet, go pound sand.
Doofus.
Its about time, I wish him well, I too hope Severino is ok.
Scotty is getting beamed up to New York.
Well Tampa, but sort of.
Scotty don’t know
*doesn’t know
We’re at the point where prospects are almost guaranteed a spot in the Majors at some point as a result of other player’s injuries.
Not to take anything away from these players though, they’ve done the work to earn these spots.
That depends on the prospects and their performances.
I know I’ll get killed for this. But 7 HRs in 25.1 IP is an issue. And an issue that he did not have in previous seasons/levels. Does Hefner’s game plan fix that, or does it get more magnified against MLB hitters? I guess we’ll see.
You’re right, and he has been good with limiting homeruns in every year prior. Maybe he’s working in the zone a little too much at the start of the year? Might explain the higher k rate, coupled with fewer hits. Maybe the team wants him to work on some things and are fine with the negatives as long as they see the progress they want.
SSS.
25.1 IP is a tiny sample size.
@geofft: You won’t get killed. No capital punishment here.
Giving up HRs is NOT necessarily bad.. Total runs given up is what matters.
The pitcher just has to bear down and try to limit them with runners on.
He could be challenging more batters with pitches in the strike zone as a strategy instead of trying to nibble.
Also it could potentially keep your pitch count down.
Pitchers adjust, hitters adjust, scouting reports change based on results
@yagottabelieve 100%. I assume they wanted him to be more confident in working in the zone , so the homeruns are understandable. The fact he’s still limited hits and gets strikeouts while limiting walks has to be a good sign for management.
@YaGottaBelieveAgain It’s remarkable how rarely people acknowledge that HR allowed in the short term are largely luck.
Fwiw if 2.5 HR/9 was a legitimate problem, Scott wouldn’t be in Tampa.
I agree with you and wish they would work in a little more in the minors before calling him up. I hope he succeeds but I’m worried.
Most of them were deGrom-esque, by that I mean he’ll be in the middle of a great game and 1 ball will find it’s way over and then he’ll retire the next 12 in a row. Scott’s had that happen at least in his last 2-3 starts. Of course for deGrom those were never meaningless since the Mets always lost his games 1-0.
When I look at his total history I see a pitcher who has been fantastic at limiting home runs. He just has this small sample where he didn’t do so well. I think he’ll be fine. If you sent major league pitchers to the minors every time they had a rough patch there wouldn’t be anyone pitching.
@SalaryCapMyth Well said. The sample size is 25.1 IP, almost nothing. I don’t doubt the Mets FO has looked at each one and decided which were legit, and which were the result of luck on FB, the result of trying something else including working the zone or emphasizing a new pitch or junking an old one….
This stuff is pretty basic and a competent FO isn’t going to bring up their most promising pitching prospect if he’s been giving up 2.5HR/9 for cause in AAA. There are a half dozen guys the Mets could bring up for spot starts rather than bring up their milb ace (comparatively speaking) when he’s in the middle of the most disastrous stretch of his career.
I’m not a fan of Stearns, but he IS competent. He isn’t in the middle of getting this absurdly wrong.
25inn 12 hits 7 were HR most solo so nothing to worry about. Looking good so far this season his first start.
Tremendous mets arm
Lets see what he can do in the big leagues!
Any relation to that office manager in Scranton PA?
I heard “HR” transferred him to Dunedin…
You mean Nashua?
Maybe he’s one of Michael’s Tots.
Scott’s Tots
I thought Scots were Catholic? Good luck in The Bigs, kid.
Lol Scots are mostly Presbyterian, Catholic or Episcopalian in that order (though more still are atheist). But in any case, Catholics are Christians…
He was Scottish, Gary Cooper?
Was def not expecting this to happen so soon…
Very SSS but he looked great in ST. Really didn’t need any secondary pitches at all.
Was cooking at 95-97 easy, with movement.
Very much looking forward to this kid. Legit TOR upside and came relatively out of nowhere.
Likely typo:
That means the Mets can control him through the 2023 season, even if he sticks in the big leagues from here on out.
Absolutely a typo. It’s 2030.
I was just going to post the same. Threw me off as to why 2023 would be called out.
A little surprising he’s up this early, but why not, I guess. Houser has been dreadful; maybe Scott will eventually replace him.
I wouldn’t be shocked to see if he serves as the extra man at first, and then displaces Houser if he continues to succeed.
Not so eventually. My money is on Houser getting DFAd to create the roster spot for Scott.
Houser will absolutely NOT get DFA’d for Scott’s roster spot. They need 6 starters for this stretch. When one of the three injured starters comes back, Houser will likely go to the pen
Speculating
Houser gets moved to bullpen.
I don’t think they would DFA him. He has a track record and some value if used correctly.. Assuming he is not injured.
One of the relievers gets sent down or DFAed ???
I’m guessing THIS is what happens
AND temporarily go to a SIX man rotation 26 games in 27 days
Maybe we can make up a mystery injury for Houser and put em on the IL. I kid, I kid.
He’s not a Christian!
There go our chances of getting off Scott free
Who gets DFA? Sulser, Fuji?
Maybe Danny Young
Raley to the 60-day
;(
Time for Houser to go, Scott will be a big improvement. With him in the rotation they should go to a 6 man once Senga comes back.
Houser will go back to his usual long-man spot, once Senga returns, barring more injuries.
Unfortunately I believe that Raley will be going on the 60 day injured list to make room for Scott on the 40. I also think that it may just be a spot start for Scott as Megill may be ready to be activated next time through the rotation. But what do I know…nothing?
Pretty good assumption for a know-nothing.
Well… somehow a second MRI was much better and he will continue ramping up.
He better be replacing Houser. Butto should be sent off to Single A once Senga is healthy. God I can’t watch Butto anymore. I’m tired of seeing him walk everyone. He walks about 5 to 6 guys a game in 5 innings. How he made the majors I’ll never know
@ LFG Another unsubstantiated statement in which you criticize merely for the sake of criticizing. In five starts this season, Butto has walked more than 3 batters only once. In total, he’s walked 14 in 28 IP. Not great, but about half of what you suggested.
Geofft pretty much covered it, but I’m actually blown away at how bad your take is.
Buttó has a 2.57 ERA. 1.07 WHIP and more Ks than innings pitched. They aren’t sending him to single A.
Butto has been neck-and-neck with Severino as the Mets best starter. Just stop.
@rct if you actually believe that then you don’t have a clue about baseball. Also Sean Manaea has clearly been our best starter. What game are you watching?
LFGMets
Butto 1.07 WHIP
Severino 1.05 WHIP
Manaea 1.43 WHIP
What game are you watching?
I’m watching the Mets. Got to love when someone says something completely wrong yet tells everyone else they don’t have a clue. If you think Butto is bad, provide some stats to back up your idiotic claim. You’ve been provided with stats that counter your argument but only respond with histrionics.
@LFGMets: You should be sent off to Single A.
We’ll put you on the Q train to Coney Island so you can watch the Brooklyn Cyclones at Maimonides Park.
Your assignment is to learn at least one thing about baseball and report back to us.
Butto only has the best WAR of any relief pitcher for the Mets this year so far while having a 1.07 whip and a solid era probably is why. He has the stuff just needs to find the zone more. But he’s been pretty solid for them actually. Reed has a 4.2 BB/9 and Brutto has a 4.5. 3/5 quality starts so far so he’s not been that bad
Yes, Butto has been solid, I like him. But it’s tough to sustain success averaging 4.5 BB a game without elite stuff, and he doesn’t have that. I like Butto as a back-end option, but the whole staff has BB issues outside of Scott, who just arrived and seems to have excellent control.
Bauer better
Your throat must be in some serious pain by now
Stay mad
Not mad whatsoever just trolling the troller, I’ll send you some cough drops to loosen up your throat for your comments later ok?
So it’s trolling to want an innocent guy to not be blackballed from the league now?
Cough drops and tissues*** are on their way
It’s because Bauer is all about Bauer. He’s not a team player type. Don’t listen to pitching coaches, takes games off because playing with toys and getting hurt. MLB is for adults. He’s still stuck in little league mode. He’s not worth the headaches and drama is why he hasn’t seen any considerations.
dopple for Gavin Lux
Nowhere near the arm of degrom (not yet)
But probly the best SP prospect since jake
Houser is being moved to the pen, thankfully.
Peterson and Megill are on rehab stints.
Scott was called up to give the team a 6 man rotation over the next 25 games.
Now, if they could get some consistent hitting….
Not entirely accurate on the 6-man. They’re sticking with a 5-man rotation for now and will evaluate a 6-man after a time or two through the rotation.
Clarification on the rehabs: Megill was only up to 40 pitches in his last start. He’ll probably need at least one, maybe two rehab starts before ready. Petersonn is on rehab, but cannot come off of the IL before May 27th but he’s on schedule to be ready by then.
Throwing a Christian to the Lions.,,,
…. Lions and Tigers and Braves, oh my!
Just got his 6th K while completing 6 2/3 innings on the road.
Very strong debut.
Great debut. That first inning, though…. Yikes.
Houser and Quintana have been limp.
Senga’s out indefinitely.
Megill’s hurt.
Interesting that they burned some control over Scott in a year where they aren’t going anywhere, particularly when they have Looch and Hamel to hurl into the breach. This isn’t Stearns’ M.O.
It was always going to be an ugly 2024 once age and injuries began taking their toll, and part-timers thrust into full-time roles begin to fall onto the IL. That rated to be during the summer, especially the late summer (when Nimmo needs a day off after Taylor and Bader are on the IL? That won’t be pretty.) Looks like we’re just about there, already.
Stearns was on a tight budget in Milwaukee. Also, Mets didn’t lose anything on Scott. They made him a potential super 2 but considering how few innings he threw last year—I’d be surprised if he sticks around all year
That’s not why. We’re in an era where Taijuan Walker and Jameson Taillon are getting 4/70m. Even Cohen has limits and when you bring guys up early you end up losing a FA year worth 10, 20, 30 million dollars, The Mets aren’t even all that eager to pay Alonso—which is the right move—but they’re sure like to have him for 2025 for nothing more than arb money. Even WITH a $300m payroll.
Scott threw 87 innings in 2023. Most teams are comfortable pushing such a guy to 137 innings in 2024, particularly in a 6-man. Figure a 6-man rotation (or even a 5-man where Scott’s the one who gets bumped) with one or two trips to the 10-day IL he’d easily be up for the rest of the year.
Still, it’s obviously a lost year for the Mets. I’m glad they brought Scott up b/c he’s more fun, more interesting to watch than the alternatives, but using up control is unfortunate.
He’s had issues in the first inning all year, unfortunately. 9 ERA in the first, and then 1.80, 1,.80, 3.60, 0, 0, 0 in the innings after. Not sure if he’s always been a slow starter, but that’s been his MO this year. Love that he has lots of swing and miss and attacks the zone, but I’d like to see him pitch out of the zone strategically more. I fear if he takes the same approach vs. the Braves this week, they’ll hit him hard.
Many starting pitchers have issues in the first inning before they settle down.
Nothing to be alarmed about.