Brandon Sproat shows speed in the Grapefruit League start

Port st. Lucie – Brandon Sproat does not get up on the hill and tries to meet 99 miles per hour with his fastball. Regardless of whether it is 95 or 100, and the top pitching view of the Mets prioritizes the command and attacks the zone more than the speed.

“When I throw 99, that’s cool,” said Sprroat in Clover Park on Friday. “I mean, it’s nothing I am concerned about.”

Sproat doesn’t have to worry, he came out in his first start of the Grapefruit League and met with his first field 98.

The speed is a reason why the METs designed the Florida University’s product twice in the fifth round 2022 and in the second round 2023. The 6: 3, 215-pound right-handed man has all of a large league starter.

Sproat threw two goalless innings in the 7-0 win of the Mets against the Washington Nationals and hit one. There were two relatively simple inner sings, with three groundouts at the top of the first to all three from his sink.

“The sinker and two-seat is a pitch on which he works and I thought it was really good,” said manager Carlos Mendoza. “He got ground balls. The change was advertised. I mean, quite electrically for a few meetings. His first time in the Big League Camp, it was a good first impression. “

The electricity came from the fast ball. It doesn’t have much drive and smaller Leaguers used Triple-A, but Sprroat also throws this sink quite hard. The quietly spoken 24-year-old looked as if he were on Friday. He had some nerves, but they are standard for him before the start. A cracked amount did little to intimidate it, and Sproat used a moment to appreciate the opportunity before he threw his first place.

“A cool experience,” he said. “The game plan would only go up there and just attack and somehow take care of everything. It was a lot of fun. Great weather and great fans, good turnout. “

If everything goes well, Sprroat could follow the METS rotation at some point this season. While he had to struggle in Triple-A last year, he found it in Syracuse at the end of his time. It would be a big victory for a department for player development that has tried to develop start jugs in the past decade.

Shape

The METs used a line -up with five of their best rackets against Washington one after the other. Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, Brandon Nimmo and Mark Viientos 1-5 with four of the five offensive created.

Lindor, Alonso and Dimmo loaded the bases on the left -hander Shinnosuke Ogasawara and the catcher Luis Torrens Plates two with a line drive to the right field. Soto cut out his second spring training in Homerun in a third and two in the third.

GEIMMO was the only one of the groups who did not take a hit and scored 0-to-1 with a walk and a run. In his first spring game of the season, the METS played it carefully to avoid that plantar fasciitis was triggered in his foot.

“I liked it,” said Mendoza. “There is a good bat after another, so it’s a deep line -up. And when you see it playing it, it’s a good feeling. Again it is still early, but overall a good day. “

The lists at this time of year are constructed in different ways to ensure that some players receive a certain number of bats and how certain rackets work in certain situations. Without cuts that have been made, the Hitter of the Minor League also get many opportunities to play in Grapefruit League games. The Mets will continue to move bats up and down to see what works before the opening day and what is not.

Pitching depth

This week, the Mets signed an experienced right-hander Jose Ureña for a Minor League contract. The plan is to extend it as a starter, but Mendoza also noticed that it can be used as a long helper. Ureña could fight for a starting job from the warehouse, but at the moment the Mets see him as a group of deep starters of the second stage with the right -hander Justin Hagenman and the left -hander Brandon Waddell.

The 33-year-old went with an ERA of 3.80 and a 4.62 FIP and a save in 33 games (nine starts) for the Texas Rangers last season 6-8.