Buzzing Mets Pitching Prospect ‘Feels Ready’ for Majors

Getty “I feel ready,” says Mets top pitching prospect Christian Scott.

Christian Scott, the top-ranked pitching prospect in the New York Mets farm system, is knocking on the door of the big-leagues as he’s struck out 34 batters in 20 2/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse through four starts.

“I feel ready,” Scott said in an interview published April 16 by SNY. “I’m not focused on that, per se. I would say just going out there whenever I get the ball. Whatever level it’s at, I’m just gonna go out there and try to win as many games as I can. I think the Mets have done an unbelievable job being up front with me, and just kind of knowing what to expect.”

Scott’s strikeout total ranks him second in all of Triple-A baseball behind only Cade Povich, the Baltimore Orioles prospect who’s made five starts for the Norfolk Tides. In four starts, Scott is 3-0 with a 3.48 ERA and sparkling 0.73 WHIP. The right-hander is currently slated to pitch on Sunday for Syracuse.

His only blemish in Triple-A has been his susceptibility to the long ball. Scott’s allowed six homers in four starts with seven of the eight runs he’s yielded this season coming on home runs.

MLB Pipeline ranked Scott as its No. 5 overall Mets prospect before the season behind four position players. The 24-year-old was drafted out of the University of Florida by the Mets in the fifth round. Scott’s potential call-up to the Big Leagues would see him join a Mets roster that already includes fellow former Florida Gators Pete Alonso and Harrison Bader.

Christian Scott Could Soon Join the New York Mets Rotation

Tim Britton, a Mets beat reporter for The Athletic, wrote April 26 that the Mets are “contemplating slipping a sixth starter into their rotation sometime over the next month” as they prepare to play 39 games over the next 41 days on their schedule.

Britton listed Scott as an option to fill that role alongside Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi, who owns a 2.42 ERA over five starts at Triple-A Syracuse. Megill began the season in the Mets rotation but has been out with an injured shoulder and is set to start a minor-league rehab assignment in High-A Brooklyn on April 27.

“Multiple club sources indicated the Mets’ preference when promoting Scott would be to give him more than a start or two,” Britton wrote for The Athletic. “Ideally, he’d receive a run of at least four or five starts to acclimate to the majors.”

The Mets rotation has been without ace Kodai Senga since he hurt his shoulder in early spring training. Senga is set to throw live batting practice on Monday, which will be his first action against hitters since his injury. He is eligible to return from the injured list on May 27, but it is not known if he will be fully recovered by that date or still need time.

Triple-A Manager Compares Christian Scott to Former Great New York Mets Pitching Prospects

The New York Mets haven’t had a high-impact top pitching prospect for nearly a decade since the debuts of Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, and Noah Syndergaard. Dick Scott, manager for the Mets’ Triple-A Syracuse squad, has put Christian Scott (no relation) into the company of those pitchers.

“Guys like him are like thoroughbreds,” Dick Scott said of Christian Scott, per MLB.com. “They want the ball. They want to go. They want to take it. You’ve got to like that. That’s something that we haven’t had probably since we had that group come through like Harvey and deGrom, Wheeler, Syndergaard. … I think he’s going to be one of those guys that has a really good, complete package as a pitcher.”