With Mets prospect Christian Scott dominating, when is the right time to call him up?
Christian Scott and Triple-A Syracuse might not be synonymous for much longer.
The 24-year-old Mets prospect has been dominating all season in what is his first taste of Triple-A, but he took things to another level in his start on Tuesday night.
After issuing a walk and giving up a two-run homer in the first inning, Scott was perfect -- literally.
Scott retired the final 18 batters he faced, and left with one out in the seventh inning at 85 pitches and with seemingly plenty left in the tank.
As Scott carved through the Columbus Clippers on Tuesday, his mound presence and emotion was as notable as his stuff -- which was filthy.
There were dastardly sweepers, nasty sliders, well-executed changeups, and fastballs that Scott dotted on the corners or blew past hitters up in the zone.
Scott's 3.48 ERA -- inflated by the six home runs he's allowed -- won't blow you away, but pretty much everything else he's done in four starts this season will.
In 20.2 innings, Scott has allowed just 11 hits.
He has walked four and struck out 34 (14.81 per nine). Those 34 strikeouts lead all of minor league baseball.
He has struck out a whopping 44.2 percent of the batters he's faced.
His WHIP is 0.73.
The batting average against him is .151.
At a certain point, it becomes pointless to keep a prospect at a level he's dominating -- especially if that prospect is a pitcher who is on an innings limit as he fully builds up.
Scott threw 87.2 innings across three levels in 2023. And with the Mets -- and most teams -- allowing their pitching prospects to increase around 30-to-40 innings a season, it stands to reason that Scott's innings limit in 2024 is around 125.
That means Scott could have just over 100 innings left for this season. How many of those innings should be spent in Triple-A?
There are a few things to factor in here.
First, there is currently no opening in the Mets' rotation for Scott.
Luis Severino, Jose Quintana, and Sean Manaea are rightfully entrenched, and Jose Butto has earned the right to stay.
The wild card here could be the performance of Adrian Houser, who has worked in a hybrid starter/reliever role in the past and is on a one-year deal.
Houser has a 7.45 ERA (5.07 FIP) and 1.75 WHIP across 19.1 innings over four starts this season, but most of that damage came against the Braves in Atlanta and the Dodgers in Los Angeles (Houser has allowed three runs combined in his other two starts).
So it's premature to write off Houser.
There's also the question of how Scott will perform once he's called up, with the jump from Triple-A to the majors a huge one for every prospect.
But if the Mets think Scott is ready to handle it, the main consideration here should be what's best for the team. And if Scott being in the rotation sooner rather than later -- while also getting big league experience under his belt for 2025 -- is best for the team, he should be up soon.
When I spoke with Scott last week, he sounded like someone who was ready for the challenge -- while also staying grounded and being patient.
“I feel ready," Scott said. "I’m not focused on that, per se. I would say just going out there whenever I get the ball. Whatever level it’s at, I’m just gonna go out there and try to win as many games as I can. I think the Mets have done an unbelievable job being up front with me, and just kind of knowing what to expect."
It feels like Scott's next start will be in Triple-A. But after that, it seems like anything is possible.
