You couldn’t have written a much more perfect script if you were Brandon Sproat. In his spring debut, the Mets No. 1 prospect faced the minimum, retiring all six Nationals he faced.
He allowed no hits, no runs, no walks, no hit-batters; just six up, six down, and he needed just 19 pitches to do so. Of those 19 pitches, just 6 were balls. He threw 13 strikes, including on a 99mph sinker to retire Robert Hassell III on a strikeout to end the second inning.
Sproat was also credited with the win over the Nationals as the Mets went on to defeat Washington 7-0. He threw all six of his pitches in his spring debut: sinker, four-seam fastball, slider, changeup, cutter, and curveball. With six pitches and the ability to keep all of them at a high velocity, the right-hander has the ability to keep teams guessing.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Though he struggled a bit in Triple-A in 2024, Sproat is showing that he put in the work this offseason and has come into spring improved and knowing what he needs to do to continue to improve.
With Steve Gelbs and Ron Darling with SNY, Sproat called his first outing a blast, saying he focused on staying on the attack and trusting for the results to come.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Sproat. “It’s obviously a cool experience… Great weather, great fans, it was a good turnout.”
“Staying on the attack is huge for me. Just trusting my stuff, staying in control, that’s who I am. And that’s kind of what I got away from. You live and you learn and I now know what I need to work on.”
He discussed the implementation of his two-seam sinking fastball into his repertoire, saying it’s a pitch he started using with Syracuse and has worked on over the offseason. Sproat also added at the start of camp that he’s excited about the progress he’s made with it so far.
“The sinker, I have full confidence behind it right now,” Sproat said. “I have full confidence behind it… The start line, for sure is the first thing… For me it’s just the grip I use to throw it. Let the grip do the work.”
Sproat also talked about how he’s talked with and learned from all the guys in camp (pitchers and position players).
“They’re all in the show for a reason, they do things very well. Just picking their brains about what they do day-in and day-out, what they do good and what they might struggle with, and learning how they go about it.”
That includes playing with guys like Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, etc.
“It was pretty cool to watch (Lindor, Soto, and Alonso on defense).”
Sproat credited the entire Mets’ coaching staff for his development and where he’s at today, along with his mental coach out of college.
“The Mets have one of the best organizations when it comes to helping players and developing them. I’m very pleased with what they do,” Sproat stated.
Carlos Mendoza also discussed Sproat’s spring debut on Friday.
“He was really good,” Mendoza told the media. “Velo, first pitch, right out of the gate was 98. The sinker, the two-seam is a pitch he’s working on was really good, he got ground balls with that… Pretty electric there for a couple innings. For his first time pitching in big league camp, it was a good outing for him; good first impression.”
With a couple potential spots open on the starting rotation, for Sproat and the Mets, you have to be happy with what you saw on Friday and encouraged by what he can possibly do at the next level.
