Photo by @KristinBasnett
New York Mets minor-league left-hander Anthony Kay is currently showing why this team went back to the well twice to bring the Long Island native into the organizational fold.
After selecting the Ward Melville High alum in the 29th round of the 2013 draft — only to be rebuffed when Kay chose to attend UConn instead — the Mets’ front office tabbed the 24-year-old southpaw as the 31st-overall pick of the 2016 draft.
Ulnar reconstruction surgery wiped out his would-be professional debut season in 2017, but Anthony Kay returned healthily and made his presence felt over the course of 2018.
Over 13 starts (69.1 innings) with Single-A Columbia last year, Kay pitched to an unspectacular 4.54 earned-run average but managed a 3.56 fielding independent pitching rating with 10.13 strikeouts and 2.86 walks per nine innings, respectively (78 strikeouts, 22 walks) — all respectable marks.
He showed a penchant for giving up the long ball, allowing six during his Single-A stint (0.78 homers per nine), but clearly made that an area of focus moving forward.
After a June call-up to Advanced-A St. Lucie, Kay considerably improved his dingers-against metrics (just one allowed over 53.1 innings). Kay saw his ERA drop nearly three-quarters of a run from his numbers with the Fireflies (3.88)and kept his FIP in the same ballpark (3.67), as well.
Concerningly, his strikeouts decreased (7.59 per nine; 45 over 10 starts) and his walks jumped up drastically (4.56 per nine compared to 2.86 with Columbia). These things are bound to happen when a guy gets promoted a level within his first two-plus months in professional baseball.
Growing pains, speedbumps, whatever you want to call them — they happen. However, despite not exactly “wowing” fans or scouts, there was plenty to be impressed with via Anthony Kay last year.
His heavy fastball sits in the low-to-mid 90s with plenty of movement. His changeup has been characterized as his most dangerous pitch and perhaps the one that sets him apart as he continues his progress through the Mets’ minor-league system. And the development of his curveball is, by all accounts, coming along nicely.
Heading into the 2019 MiLB season, the Mets presumably figured they’d challenge Kay a bit by starting him at Double-A Binghamton, see how he responded and take it from there. So far, so good.
Over Kay’s first two starts of the season (9.1 innings), the southpaw allowed no runs, just three hits, and struck out eight. His control issues lingered (five bases-on-balls issued), and he got touched up for four runs over 4.2 innings in his next start on April 16 versus New Hampshire, but he’s clearly settling into his new surroundings.
After pitching into the sixth inning in Saturday’s snowy loss to Portland, Kay’s put together 11.1 innings of one-run, five-hit ball with 17 strikeouts and five walks over his last two starts.
Through Kay’s first five outings this season (24.1 innings), the East Setauket native’s got a 1.85 ERA with a 3.17 FIP rating, 10.73 strikeouts and 4.07 walks per nine, respectively (29 strikeouts, 11 walks), and 0.99 WHIP. Needless to say, Anthony Kay’s coming along very nicely.
Anthony DiComo of MLB.com noted that Kay has been garnering some added positive attention this season and his performance on Saturday only magnified it.
“[Kay’s fastball] hit 95 mph [Saturday] at snowy Binghamton, where temperatures dipped into the 30s,” DiComo tweeted. “One scout predicted Kay could succeed out of the Mets’ bullpen later this year.”
Whether general manager Brodie Van Wagenen, manager Mickey Callaway, and the rest of the Mets’ brain trust feel Kay is ready for The Show is yet to be determined, but he’s well on his way to making that a tough decision.
Between inadequacies in the Mets’ rotation and bullpen after nearly a month in the books, an added shot in the arm (and extra motivation to some of the big club’s underperformers thus far) in Anthony Kay’s ascension into the majors could be a benefit. We shall see…
