Photo by @KristinBasnett
Earlier this week, the Mets promoted left-hander Anthony Kay to Triple-A Syracuse after watching him dominate the Eastern League with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
In 12 starts, Kay went 7-3 with a 1.49 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, and 70 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings. He also had a walk rate of 3.1 BB/9 as compared to 3.6 in 2018.
While the Mets are eager to promote the 24-year-old to the big leagues when he’s ready, they are not going to call him up as a reliever, as detailed by Mike Puma of the New York Post.
Assistant GM Allard Baird clarified that “[the team’s] focus is to develop him as a starter.”
Baird actually believes it could hinder his development significantly if the team were to try and convert him into a reliever in order to use him at the major league level this season.
“This organization has to have starters, that is the priority, and to do that he has to have all his pitches. If he’s not where he needs to be in terms of quality pitches, if you put him in the bullpen to save innings, then that pitch doesn’t develop. So now for immediate needs, you have shortened up his development and it doesn’t help our major league club in becoming a starter.”
While, yes, the Mets bullpen could certainly use an arm as talented as Anthony Kay, is it really worth hindering the development of the one of the team’s top prospect, and arguably their best pitching prospect?
Probably not, and another aspect of this to consider is that the team might need Kay to be ready on Opening Day next season as a starter, with both Zack Wheeler and Jason Vargas set to hit free agency this offseason. The latter has an $8 million team option for the 2020 season.
Baird ended off the interview with Puma talking about how Kay is looking to improve and that the team is focused on “actual strikes,” which involves evaluating pitches that a minor leaguer swung at, and determining whether a major league hitter would as well.
That is the area that Kay is working to improve and Baird is impressed by the left-hander’s understanding of that concept.
