Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong haven’t been in the big league clubhouse long enough to enjoy some of the perks afforded to top rookies. The Mets‘ schedule hasn’t worked out to allow for lavish team dinners or sightseeing trips, but team leaders promise that something is coming soon that will celebrate their arrivals to the big leagues.
However, if you ask the rookie righties themselves, they’ll tell you the veterans on the team have already made them feel like they’re legitimate big leaguers.
“It was definitely nice having to have met them during spring training, so I was able to get a feel for the older guys and kind of how they are as people and as players,” Sproat told the Daily News on Wednesday. “Coming here, they were super welcoming. Everyone was like, ‘Hey, man, whatever you need just ask us.’”
The club’s player development group has put an emphasis on developing the person and the player, with the Mets stressing that they want players to feel as though they can be themselves at every level. For years, young players in the sport were always expected to conform to a clubhouse culture that was defined by the higher-ups of the team. Some conformity is always expected in sports, but the Mets don’t want to rein in personality and risk reining in talent along with it.
This is especially important when it comes to their pitchers.
Tong, Sproat and McLean, have arsenals as different as their personalities. Tong, 22, is the goofball of the group, while Sproat, the oldest at 25, tends to be quiet and diligent, and McLean is easygoing, yet self-assured. So far, McLean, 24, has been the only one of the three to be able to enjoy one of the rookie perks, with the veterans paying his buy-in during team poker games, but Sproat expects to join at some point soon.
The Mets don’t have one overarching philosophy when it comes to pitching or hitting as some teams do. They don’t develop every hitter to have a contact approach and they don’t develop every pitcher to get ground-ball outs. This was taken into consideration as the three matured and advanced through the minor league system over the last few years.
“We’re never going to try to change the core of who a pitcher is,” said Mets director of player development, Andy Greene. “You’ve got somebody who operates north-south really, really well [Tong], so we’re going to lean into those strengths and figure out complementary pitches to build around that. Nolan’s arsenal creation has been a testament to our pitching leadership, our analytics group and Nolan’s resourcefulness.”
Their development doesn’t stop now that they’re in the big leagues. Sure, the Mets are using them out of necessity in a playoff race, but the club wouldn’t have them pitching in meaningful August and September games if the decision-makers didn’t think they were capable of getting out elite hitters. The Mets see how they’re being tested, and they’re seeing how they handle those tests.
The 22-year-old Tong, who was recently named the Mets’ Minor League Pitcher of the Year, will have a big test Wednesday when he closes out a series against the San Diego Padres. It will be his first start after he failed to go even a full inning last weekend in his third Major League start last weekend against the Texas Rangers.
It brought to Greene’s mind a start last season with High-A Brooklyn. Facing the Jersey Shore Blue Claws, Tong gave up five earned runs over only 1/3 of an inning. The next time he faced the Blue Claws, he shut them out over five innings, holding them to a single hit while striking out seven.
“He bounced back and had an amazing year last year that catapulted him to this stage this year,” Greene said. “I think that’s what you’re looking for in young guys like him. Show me that you can handle the tough moments because it’s guaranteed they’re going to show up at some point in time.”
McLean, 24, a former two-way player out of Oklahoma State, had to drop the bat to speed up his development on the mound. Once he did, it took off. His curveball, only a recent addition to his pitch mix, is increasingly becoming important for him at a higher level.
“He has a curveball with depth he didn’t have last year, he has a comeback two-seamer against lefties he didn’t have last year, you’re seeing those pitches born out of the moments of adversity show up against Bryce Harper,” Greene said. “That’s a lot of fun because that’s coaches working ridiculously hard, that’s our leadership and analytics putting their brains together to figure out what it is he can add, and then that’s just watching a freakishly good athlete make the adaptations really fast.”
Sproat was the last of the trio to make his Major League debut, doing so less than two weeks ago in Cincinnati. By the time he arrived, he knew he was ready.
“I’ve learned that my stuff is enough,” he said. “I don’t have to be anyone different. I just be myself, be Brandon Sproat, and the rest will take care of itself.”
