Flabbergasted.
Probably the emotion all Mets’ players, coaches, and fans felt when the news of Clay Holmes‘ injury broke after Friday’s loss to the Yankees.
It was a brutal blow to Holmes and the Mets’ roster as a whole. The righty had blossomed in his second full season as a starter and holds a 2.39 ERA in 52 2/3 innings after his start Friday, plus he joins a long IL list for the Mets, which includes Francisco Lindor, Jorge Polanco, Luis Robert Jr., Francisco Alvarez, Ronny Mauricio, A.J. Minter, Tylor Megill, and Reed Garrett.
The 33-year-old will be down for a “long-time” and the Mets will have to replace his spot in the rotation. Fortunately for the Mets, they have numerous options to take the ball in their organization. And the name that deserves the call is another prospect stashed in Triple-A — Jack Wenninger.
Jack Wenninger Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Wenninger is another gem from the Mets’ impressive 2023 draft class. He took a massive step forward in the minors in 2025, and has rewarded the Mets’ decision to have him start 2026 in Triple-A.
The 24-year-old has thrown 33 1/3 innings in Syracuse this season, pitching to a 1.08 ERA with 38 strikeouts, 18 walks, and only one homer allowed. It’s been another step forward for Wenninger, who pitched to a 2.92 ERA in Binghamton last season with 147 punch outs and 42 walks in 135 2/3 innings.
The 6’4″ right-hander relies on an impressive fastball-splitter combo to retire batters. Wenninger’s fastball has a 55 grade, and since last season, has reached the upper 90s with consistency. He’s able to fool batters with his 65-grade splitter, which sits in the mid-80s and falls out the zone with sharp horizontal movement.
It’s a ghastly combo. And it’s resulted in Wenninger posting a 10.3 K/9 through seven starts.
Wenninger also mixes in a slider to keep batters off the north-south movements of his best two pitches. It’s a pitch that has gradually gotten better during his time in the minors, jumping from a 45-grade pitch in 2024 to a 50 grade in 2026 with “snappy” movement according to Baseball Savant.
The third pitch is the most important factor in the choice of Wenninger over pitchers like Jonah Tong and Zach Thornton. Tong is still down in Syracuse attempting to fine-tune his cutter that he added to his repertoire in the offseason, and has pitched to a 5.68 ERA while trying to work the pitch into starts. Plus while Thornton has pitched to a 2.25 ERA in 12 innings, the lefty was just recently promoted to Triple-A in May and might need more time to get acclimated to the higher level.
Wenninger appears to be the most ready arm stashed in the minors to get the call. And factoring in major league options such as Sean Manaea and Tobias Myers, it would behoove the Mets to give another rookie a chance to impact the ball club.
Manaea is still averaging low-90s velocity on his fastball and has an average exit velocity of 90.7 against his pitches. Myers has been a factor for the Mets out of the bullpen, and subtracting him from the bullpen would leave Carlos Mendoza with fewer options to get through games that include David Peterson.
The Illinois University product is the most sensible choice for the Mets. He’s made positive strides at every level he’s gone to, has strikeout stuff that is translatable to the majors, and has also met the moment everywhere he’s pitched. Wenninger was originally a Murray State product before transferring and finding success in the Big-10, then was second in the Mets minor league system in strikeouts in only his second minor league season.
Wenninger also proved to minimize the moment last season with Binghamton. He punched out 11 batters over 5 1/3 innings in the Double-A Eastern League championship. The performance sparked the Rumble Ponies to a championship, featuring dominance over a lineup of Kevin McGonigle, Max Clark, Josue Briceño, and Thayron Liranzo.
