Christian Scott‘s big league debut drew a lot of anticipation and excitement in the days leading up to it. The right-handed starter lived up to the hype, delivering an impressive individual performance against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. While it did end in a 3-1 loss for the New York Mets, fans can certainly be excited for Scott and his bright future in the team’s rotation.
While it did prove to be a great night for the 24-year-old, it did not start all that smoothly for him. Yandy Díaz, Richie Palacios and Isaac Paredes started the bottom of the first inning with hits, putting Scott under immediate pressure. But he handled it well, punching out Randy Arozarena (his first career big league strikeout) and getting Harold Ramírez to ground out into a double play, avoiding any more trouble.
From that point on, it was pretty much a pitching duel between the Rays’ Zack Littell and Scott. Neither were under that much duress for the rest of their outings, and as a result, the game remained tight.
Specifically, this season, the Mets’ rotation has struggled to pitch deep into games this season. In Scott’s debut, he was not only able to pitch into the seventh inning, but was an out away from getting through seven innings on the night. Instead, he had to settle for 6 2/3 innings pitched, allowing one run on five hits while striking out six in 94 pitches.
Christian Scott. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-USA TODAY Sports
Scott got 18 swings-and-misses from the Rays’ lineup, the most by any Mets starter this season. It was one of the best starts by a Mets starting pitcher this season. And it came from their 24-year-old top prospect in his major league debut.
“I was super comfortable out there, really trusted my stuff, pounded the strike zone – exactly what I wanted to do. I was able to throw a lot of changeups to righties today which was huge, get them off my heater and my sweeper and then just cruised after that,” Scott said after the game.
Scott relied on his four-same fastball and sweeper, but the later was the pitch he went to when he needed a strikeout. Four of his six punch outs came on that pitch, and the Rays lineup was only able to record one hit against his breaking ball. Scott’s stuff has taken a massive jump since being drafted out of the University of Florida. Scouts talked about his strong command coming out of college, but now he has the stuff to attack hitters and keep them off-balance.
Carlos Mendoza did mention the possibility of a six-man rotation, which at this point, should include Scott. Adrian Houser is joining the bullpen and Tylor Megill is close to coming off the injured list, so a spot is there for the young starter. With Kodai Senga still a few steps away from returning, Scott should remain in the big league rotation. The Mets need his arm and he has already shown that the moment is not going to be too big for him.
