A Frog in my Sproat

     This is my official check-in post. It's been almost three months since I've posted on this blog. I'll come back here and post occasionally, but Don Cardwell has taken over. Anyway, this is my personal scouting report on Mets pitching prospect Brandon Sproat, which is posted on this blog solely because less people read this one. 

    I saw a video on YouTube claiming that Sproat threw a pitch at 135 mph. While I can't say I believe this for a second, some research showed me that he consistently throws in the upper-90s, an still impressive mark.

    The 24-year old Brandon Sproat was drafted in the second round of the 2023 June Amateur Draft by the New York Mets. He posted a 19-8 record and 4.27 ERA in college, striking out almost 10 batters every nine innings. Sproat pitched in the minor leagues for the first time in 2024, starting in high-A, and finishing the season in triple-A. Overall, in 24 appearances (23 starts), Sproat pitched to a 7-4 record and 3.40 ERA. While this is certainly a good mark, he had a 7.53 ERA in 7 starts at the highest level of the minors (triple-A). These numbers would suggest that he has a lot of talent, but needs to hone his skills before meriting a call-up.

    A piece of Sproat's 2024 scouting report from Baseball Savant:

The 6-foot-3 right-hander can touch triple-digits, as he's done a few times on the pro side, and he'll typically sit in the 95-97 mph range. He'll get some armside run on the heater too, so batters have to worry about more than just the velocity. His upper-80s changeup shows decent enough separation and good fade to give him another weapon that's worked in both college and the pros. He'll show a mid-80s slider and an upper-80s cutter -- two different pitches with varying amounts of horizontal break that have given upper-level hitters fits. There is also a 78-81 mph curveball that ranks behind the rest of the group in usage.

    At 24 years of age, I hope that Brandon Sproat can make it to the Bigs either in 2025 (age 24 season) or 2026 (age 25 season), so he can have the time to develop into an ace-caliber pitcher at that level.

    Brandon Sproat is currently ranked #40 on the MLB official prospect list. I think he's definitely a guy to keep an eye on in the next coming years.

    While this scouting report didn't go into too much depth, I think it gets the point across, and I think Sproat is the real deal. Whether he'll be at the level of a Paul Skenes sort of guy is saying a little bit much, but I think this kid can eventually be a Cy Young Award candidate. The Mets seem to be stacking themselves at this point in time, but I haven't heard a lot of their pitching staff, so if he's lucky, Brandon Sproat may find himself in the Major Leagues as soon as 25.