The 2023 Mets minor league season saw a plethora of growth from their starting pitchers. Pitching development helped lead to strong success for a few Mets affiliates, including 2023 Eastern League runners up, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

Two starters succeeded at the best rate in the system, and they have been named to the 2023 All-Mets Minors Team:

RHP Christian Scott and RHP Tyler Stuart

Christian Scott started out his year with the Brooklyn Cyclones, where the 2021 5th round selection would dominate. Scott pitched for Brooklyn for roughly two months before getting the call to Double-A. Over six starts for Brooklyn, Scott posted a 2.28 ERA, a 0.80 WHIP, while also striking out 10.5 batters per nine innings. Most of Scott’s starts were abbreviated considering he only threw 23 2/3 innings over his six starts.

After his domination in the South Atlantic league, Scott moved up to the Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies and the Eastern League. Scott’s domination would continue, lighting up the Eastern League to the tune of a 2.47 ERA over 12 starts, with a 0.84 WHIP and 11.2 K/9 to boot.

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Scott’s strong three pitch mix of fastball, slider, and changeup made his stuff can’t-miss, and his incredibly strong showing in arguably the most competitive level of minor league baseball helped his prospect status rise meteorically this past year. Overall in 2023, Scott’s final line read: 5-4, 2.57 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 11.0 K/9, 1.2 BB/9.

Tyler Stuart was a sixth round selection for the Mets in 2022, and lead the minor leagues in ERA for a good chunk of the season. Stuart, 23 during the season, was in complete command of the Southern Atlantic league, where his season began. Stuart posted a 1.55 ERA over 14 Brooklyn starts, totaling 75.2 innings. Stuart struck out 10 batters over every nine innings, allowed less than three walks per nine, and worked his WHIP down from 1.91 in limited 2022 action to 1.04 in Brooklyn.

After being promoted from Brooklyn to Binghamton, Stuart still found success in the Eastern League, but not to the extent he had in Brooklyn. Stuart posted a 3.60 ERA over 35 Binghamton innings, stretched out over 7 starts. Stuart’s WHIP also climbed in his time in Binghamton, from 1.04 to 1.22, a still strong mark for the imposing righty in his first full season in the pros.

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Stuart stands in at an imposing 6’9″, with a strong fastball and slider combination, backed up by an improving changeup. His makeup should allow him to be an MLB starting pitcher, but if not, Stuart has all the makings of a strong late-inning reliever, especially considering his 6’9″ frame and the extension that follows.

Honorable Mentions: RHP Mike Vasil, RHP Dominic Hamel

2021 MLB Draft selections Mike Vasil and Dominic Hamel turned in strong full-season campaigns this year down on the farm. Vasil started his season as dominant as any other pitcher in the Mets’ system, posting a 2.19 ERA through his first seven starts in Binghamton.

Vasil’s Binghamton stint ended with allowing 12 runs in his final three starts from May 24 through June 10. Vasil was injured in his May 24th start, and left the start early with trainers. Vasil ended up posting a 5.30 ERA in his 16 Triple-A starts, but his time in Syracuse was highlighted by his eight one-hit innings, in which he struck out seven and took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning.

As for Hamel, he had a rough start to the 2023 season. Hamel spent all of 2023 with Binghamton, posting a 3.85 ERA over 124 innings across 25 starts (one relief appearance). Hamel posted an ERA over six in both months of May and June, after a strong April. Hamel’s season would peak; however, in September.

Hamel was the Eastern League Player of the Month for September, a month in which he threw 14 scoreless regular season innings with 24 strikeouts, and then tossed 7 2/3 scoreless playoff innings, totaling 21 2/3 scoreless innings in the month. Hamel’s strong finish and playoff domination earns him an honorable mention for the 2023 All-Mets Minors team.