Sproat Dazzles, Soto Homers as Mets Blank Nationals
Top Mets pitching prospect Brandon Sproat will start the year at Triple-A Syracuse, but he did his best Friday to leave an impression on Carlos Mendoza with two perfect innings against the Washington Nationals in a 7-0 victory at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
“It was a blast,” Sproat told SNY from the dugout after his outing. “Go out there and just stay on the attack and whatever happens, happens.”
Sproat, a Pensacola, Fla., native and University of Florida alum, induced four groundouts, a fly out and struck out Robert Hassell III on a 99 mph fastball in his spring training debut. The 2023 second-round pick went 7-4 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.10 WHIP across three minor league levels last year. He excelled at Single-A and Double-A, but pitched to a 7.53 ERA in 28 2/3 innings at Syracuse.
“Staying on the attack is huge for me,” Sproat told SNY. “Just trusting my stuff, taking control. That’s who I am, that’s kinda what I got away from (at Syracuse). You know, you live, you learn. In the moment you don’t realize it, but looking back now I know. I now know what I need to work on.”
Juan Soto hit his second Grapefruit League homer, a 380-foot, opposite field, two-run blast off lefty Shinnosuke Ogasawara. Luis Torrens drove in a pair with a bases-loaded single. Tyrone Taylor and José Azocar added RBI singles.
Brandon Nimmo batted cleanup in his spring debut and went 0-for-1 with a walk. (Pete Alonso hit third and Mark Vientos fifth for those looking to read the batting order tea leaves on Feb. 28.)
Justin Hagenman pitched two scoreless innings while José Buttó and Huascar Brazobán each tossed one frame of their own. Yacksel Ríos, Cameron Foster and Luis Moreno completed the shutout.
Player of the Game
Sproat needed only 19 pitches to get six outs.
“It was a lot of fun,” he told reporters. “Great weather and great fans, it was a good turnout.”
The 24-year-old took a moment to absorb it all before throwing his first pitch.
“You know, Pete, Lindor, Vientos throwing the ball around. That was kinda cool to watch. Alright, you know, watching these guys on TV and now they’re behind me. That was pretty cool to watch.”
On Deck
Blade Tidwell makes his second spring training start Saturday after giving up three earned runs over two innings in his first outing. He faces the Tampa Bay Rays and lefty Shane McClanahan at 1:05 p.m. ET at Charlotte Sports Park in Port Charlotte, Fla.
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