Inside The Mets

Are the Mets creating an elite Minor League system?

Mets owner Steve Cohen discussed wanting to be the "East Coast Dodgers" when he initially bought the team, and it seems like the Amazin's are well on their way.

Martino Puccio

Feb 13, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Brandon Sproat (91) pitches live batting practice at Spring Training. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Feb 13, 2025; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; New York Mets pitcher Brandon Sproat (91) pitches live batting practice at Spring Training. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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On Tuesday, Mets Senior Vice President of Player Development Andy Green joined The Mets Pod to discuss a few of the Mets up and coming prospects.

The most interesting takeaway from the interview has to be how Green discussed top pitching prospect Brandon Sproat, and his growth after being called up to Triple-A.

"When a guy flies through the system like he did last year, you actually want to get them to a point where they find some real challenge," Green said. "I think in his last outing in Double-A, he punched the world. It might have been 12 straight guys or something insane. Then he got to Triple-A and he had a hiccup.

Read More: Insider says Mets' top prospect Brandon Sproat could help rotation this year

"From a developmental perspective, you actually see that as a good thing cause it is going to come in a big league uniform at some point in time. And you can always go back to that experience in the minor leagues where you conquered that," Green continued. "It steals the resolve of the players when the first time they struggle is in a big-league uniform. We would love for everybody to have to fight through something, and to see the way he has come into camp this year, it is exciting to see him go through that first taste of struggle."

How the Mets have developed prospects through adversity

Every single player in the history of the sport has had struggles in the majors. Some have succumbed to them, but for others, it has turned them into the players that we see today. This is a great ideology that has already been put to the test with the team, Mark Vientos being the poster boy for it all.

After struggling in his first two "seasons" in the big leagues, Vientos had a murky future with the Amazin's. Players like Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio were considered to be options at third base in place of him.

Then, all of a sudden, Vientos had a magical moment when he hit a walk-off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals last April. He was then optioned back to Triple-A just two days later, but like Green had mentioned above, this was a mental hurdle for a player to overcome and show their true colors.

Vientos then returned to the ball club two weeks later and never looked back, including having one of the most memorable postseasons to date. That is something that never happens to the Mets, and yet it took place in year one of David Stearns' leadership.

Could we see this happen with other players, such as Brett Baty?

Once a highly rated prospect, Baty has struggled immensely in his short career in the big leagues. But so far in Spring Training, we have seen Baty elevate his versatility in the field, while adding multiple hard hits at the plate. Something that was a big concern of the 25-year-old was his lack of hard contact; despite the less competitive environment in Spring Training, this development is a positive sign to see.

The development of Nolan McLean

The Mets are showing patience with multiple players under this regime, and it might ultimately pay off in the long run.

Most notably, Nolan McLean, who caught everyone's eye for being "Cowboy Ohtani", is switching to pitching full-time this season.

Green had some interesting comments regarding McLean making this switch.

"He can spin a baseball, he is crazy athletic, he can manipulate a baseball for different shapes that people really struggle to do," Green said. "And he is wired to compete, and all of those things are going to serve him really well as he goes through this entire season focused exclusively on pitching."

Once again there is a clear-cut plan by the Mets to identify a player's talent and have them molded into the best version of that player. While we haven't seen McLean switch to pitching full-time just yet, his numbers from the bump indicate that he can make an even bigger leap heading into 2025.

There is never a guarantee that a prospect will blossom into a big league star, but the chances of that happening will always increase when there is organizational structure in place to allow these players to reach that potential. David Stearns, Andy Green, and others will help transform the Mets into "Dodgers East", where they don't have to spend like drunken sailors every offseason, but add to what is already a strong core from A-ball and up.

It seems that the Mets are one step closer to being the juggernaut that Steve Cohen envisioned since he bought the club.

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Martino Puccio
MARTINO PUCCIO

Martino Puccio is a contributor for Mets On SI. He is a graduate of Iona University with a master's degree in sports communication and media. Working in Sports Media for nearly a decade, Martino has created content on MLB, the NBA, NFL, and European Soccer for The Athletic and Fantasy Data.

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