Dominic Hamel, Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

One of the Mets’ top pitching prospects heading into the 2023 minor league season is right-hander Dominic Hamel. The 23-year-old got off on the right foot with 1 2/3 scoreless innings as one of the Mets two starting pitchers in their intrasquad game on Thursday.

During the intrasquad game, it was reported by Steve Gelbs that Hamel will start Game 3 of Puerto Rico’s schedule in the World Baseball Classic. The start is scheduled for March 15 against the powerhouse Dominic Republic lineup that includes Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Julio Rodriguez, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Hamel will follow big leaguers Marcus Stroman and Jose Berrios in the rotation. Quite an honor for a player that has yet to pitch above A-Ball in the minors.

Hamel will be joined on Team Puerto Rico by Mets stars Edwin Díaz and Francisco Lindor. The young right-hander will honor his late mother and grandfather playing for Puerto Rico.

Hamel, the Mets third rounder pick in 2021, went 10-3 with a 3.25 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, and 11.0 K/9 over 119 innings last season between Low-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn. Hamel limited hitters to a .194 average, tied for fourth with Mike Vasil among Mets minor leaguers with at least 50 innings pitched. The great season led Hamel to be named Mets Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

The pitcher known for his high spin rates ranked No. 12 in our preseason Top 30 Mets prospects list.