King Tong Takes Over New York
The Mets have long been a franchise known for their pitching. With their aces on the mound being the driving force for their two World Series Championships. Fans hope that this recent batch of arms helps make it three in this current playoff chase. In the past two weeks, the Mets have called up both Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong. The former became the first ever Met to win his first three starts, while the latter is the Minor League leader in strikeouts. Both recently debuted prospects are ranked in the top 3 in the Mets system and top 100 in the whole MLB.
Despite the high pedigree, it would be foolish to expect too much of these young guns right away. However, they have shown enough at the minor league level as well as in their brief stints in the Majors to have hope that greater things could be in store. Being able to add two arms to a rotation that has had struggles with depth as well as top-end production could be key moving forward. Especially if the team plans to move forward with a six-man rotation like they have been doing.
The rotation for the remainder of the year seems to be McLean and Tong plus incumbents, David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, and Clay Holmes. So far, Peterson has been the only starter this season to live up to expectations. Senga has been injured, and when healthy, has struggled with getting deep into ball games. Manaea started the year on the IL and has yet to regain his ace-like form from last season. Holmes, a former reliever turned starter, has been solid at times earlier in the season but has hit some rough patches as the innings have piled up. The catch is that all four of them are under contract through at least 2027, and Holmes has a player option for that year.
Having their rotation locked up could be beneficial as long as they all round back into form. However, that limits the spots available moving forward, as they have another highly touted prospect currently in Triple-A in Brandon Sproat. As well as Christian Scott, who debuted with some success last summer before going down with Tommy John surgery. Throw in Tylor Megill and Frankie Montas, who are currently injured but also did not perform well at all when healthy. It certainly appears the Mets have a crowded rotation going into next season. That’s ten guys for what appears to be five or six spots. Obviously, injuries are going to happen, and these things tend to sort themself out. But if it doesn’t and the Mets are stuck with underperforming veterans, they cannot be afraid to pull the plug in spring training early next season if things are not going well.
In regard to the younger guys, McLean, Tong, Sproat, and Scott. One cannot count on all of them becoming aces. If one of the four develops into a frontline starter and one or two more become solid middle rotation arms, it will further enhance this rotation and turn it into a strength. Injuries and underperformance are going to happen, but the hope is that in these young players, the Mets have four extra lottery tickets to supplement their staff.
