Different Ideas Emerge About the Future of Top Prospect Brandon Sproat With New York Mets

Will he make his debut at Citi Field in 2025? Or will he be shipped elsewhere?

Florida Gators starting pitcher Brandon Sproat pitches against the Virginia Cavaliers in the first inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha in the College World Series in June 2023. / Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Brandon Sproat is the top prospect in the New York Mets farm system (per Baseball America), but when will the faithful see him at Citi Field wearing the blue and orange?

Maybe sometime in the 2025 season. Maybe never.

A pair of reports this week gave differing possibilities about the future of the 24-year-old right-hander, a pitcher the Mets liked so much that they drafted him twice – first in third round in 2022 out of Florida, then the following year in the second round.

Will Sammon of The Athletic reported Friday that Sproat is likely to arrive in New York later in the looming campaign.

“Sproat should debut at some point in the second half of the season. He will start the year in Triple-A, where he had a 7.53 ERA in seven starts in 2024 after dominating the previous two levels within the same year.”

But Thursday, Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report surmised the Mets could package Sproat and
outfielder Drew Gilbert -- their No. 3 overall prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline -- and send them to the San Diego Padres for right-hander Dylan Cease.

For a starter like Cease, who could be No. 1 in the rotation, the trade might be worth it, Rymer said.

"This package would be difficult for the Mets to part with, but such boldness is arguably necessary if they want to keep up with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the broader NL race," he wrote.

Sproat made his debut in the Mets’ system in 2024, going 2-1 with a 1.07 ERA in six games (five starts) at High-A Brooklyn. Promoted to Double-A Binghamton, he was 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in 11 starts. He struck out 110 batters in 87.2 innings at the lower levels before heading to Triple-A Syracuse.

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