NEW YORK David Stearns showed a hint of frustration on the fourth question, which included a pitcher with 7 2/3 Triple-A innings to his credit.
“Here’s what I’ll say on (Brandon) Sproat,” Stearns said Friday. “Right now, he’s a Triple-A player. At the point when he’s not a Triple-A player, I’ll be happy to sit up here and talk about him. At the moment, he’s a Triple-A player.”
Yes, Sproat plays for the Syracuse Mets. And although a passionate fan base, fired up by Sproat’s quick rise through the farm system in his first full season of play, is picturing that fastball and slider combination arriving in Queens the following month, Sproat will probably play for the Syracuse Mets for the remainder of 2024.
Let’s run through a few reasons.
Sproat hasn’t succeeded in Triple A, let alone “dominated the level.”
Stearns and many others in baseball use the term “dominate the level” to characterize what merits a promotion. Sproat also achieved it at Double A (2.43 ERA in 11 starts) and High A (1.07 ERA across six games).
Not yet, at least not with Syracuse. In his Triple-A debut, he gave up a season-high six runs and was pulled after three innings in his second start.
Sproat has struck out six times while walking five in his two Triple-A starts.
“He just needs experience,” Stearns said. “This is a very new player to professional baseball, and he has moved very rapidly through our system. He’s earned that and deserved that. But we also need to make sure he dominates the level he’s at now before we start talking about what comes next.”
On Friday, Stearns discussed how a potential promotion must benefit both the player and the organization. Sproat has not yet demonstrated that a call-up is merited.
The Mets want to maintain roster flexibility — in September and in the offseason.
In September, Stearns disclosed the main strategy for that additional roster space on the pitching staff.
“Clearly your roster isn’t frozen in September,” he said. “So it’s highly likely that whoever we call up on Sept. 1, those positions could rotate as we get through the month of September.”
With so many starters surpassing their innings totals from recent seasons, you can see the Mets using that ninth place in the bullpen as a carousel of new relievers.
Sproat would also need to be added to the 40-man roster in order to be promoted to the major league roster. Sproat would not be eligible for this winter’s Rule 5 draft because he was only selected last summer. As a result, he would not need to be added to the 40-man roster during the offseason. Stearns views it much the same way as the Mets did last year, when they were cautious to call up younger pitchers like Mike Vasil and Dom Hamel in order to preserve their 40-man roster more flexible over the summer.
“All of those types of extraneous factors play a part in a call-up decision at any point,” he said. “Roster constraints, roster crunches and roster numbers — all that is going to play a factor in the decision-making.”
It would be a very aggressive promotion compared to the track records of the Mets and Stearns.
Just six picks from the 2023 draft have reached the major leagues thus far, and the Mets have not called up a player in his first full season of professional ball since Michael Conforto in 2015. Since Conforto, the Mets have not called up a prospect in his first two full seasons in the major leagues. (The club did not call up anyone from the 2020 or 2021 drafts until this season, with Eric Orze and Christian Scott, respectively.) The club has not called up anyone from the 2022 draft.
In his first full professional season, Stearns never called up a prospect to the majors when he was in Milwaukee.
Of course, there are reasons in opposition to this. Sproat, who turns 24 on September 17, is older than all six players from his draft class who have made major league debuts thus far. Furthermore, the Mets’ conservative approach to developing their prospects has not always paid off.
Naturally, it is August 16, and in the upcoming days and weeks, the equation involving Stearns, Sproat, and the Mets could alter. The Mets may find themselves in dire need of a pitching staff, and a healthy Sproat may lead to a strong Triple A team and a successful postseason.
But for the time being at least, do not hold your breath waiting for the right-hander to be promoted in September.
(Photo Brandon Sproat: Richard Rodriguez / Getty Images)
