Five Mets Pitchers Developing New Pitches In Spring Training

Every year pitchers come to spring training with the plan to test out new pitches as well as different shapes on the pitches they already have.

Here are some of the Mets pitchers who have developed new pitches or adjusted their pitch shapes this spring.

Tobias Myers

Tobias Myers has been working with Mets pitching coach Justin Willard on a new slider shape which he described in camp as being mistaken for a curveball at times because its depth. His new slider drops more than his previous slider thanks to his new spike grip and he has been averaging 80-to-81 mph on it this spring. His goal this spring is to add more velocity, which should help generate more swing and miss. He said pitching in camp with Clay Holmes and Kodai Senga, two pitchers who utilize the whole zone, has aided in his development of this pitch.

Myers is also working on refining the splitter he introduced in the middle of the 2025 season. It became one of his main swing and miss pitches that season, generating a 39.4% whiff rate. It came in at 83.1 mph with 10.5 inches of induced vertical break with 9.6 inches of horizontal break and 1,529 RPM of spin.

Clay Holmes

Clay Holmes showed up to camp looking to build off a strong first season as a starting pitcher where he threw 165 2/3 innings to a 3.53 ERA and 1.30 WHIP. One area of potential growth for Holmes in 2026 is his secondaries against left-handed hitters. In 2025, left-handed hitters put up a .621 SLG off his sweeper and .688 off his traditional slider, compared with .222 and .385 for righties. This spring training he has been workshopping a curveball.

He has only thrown his new curveball seven times, but in the small sample it looks like it could be an impactful pitch. It sits 81.7 mph with -15.6 inches of induced vertical break alongside -19 inches of horizontal break. This glove side movement allows him to get the pitch inside against left-handed hitters. With an RPM over 3,000 Holmes has been able to generate plus spin.

Holmes last threw a curveball in 2021, but that version had far less horizontal movement and spin, and he utilized it as his primary secondary pitch against left-handed hitters.

When discussing the pitch, Holmes said, “I don’t really see it being a strikeout pitch. I think it’s more a pitch that I can throw for a strike early in counts when lefties are trying to see the ball close to them. Something that starts away could be a free strike type of thing. Maybe a little bit easier to throw for a strike than the sweeper to lefties. I could see it being useful there.”

Christian Scott

Christian Scott recently threw in a game for the first time since his 2024 Tommy John surgery. His first inning his pitch shapes, especially his fastball, were not the strongest, but the second inning they looked markedly better. He did not throw his changeup in that appearance but he threw his new splitter shape eight times across 49 pitches. He threw it harder than he did in 2024 with significantly less spin and iBV. Splitters are pitches that are more effective at lower spin rates and iBV. His axis change from 1:45 to 2:00 should allow him to better tunnel that with his new changeup.

While we have not yet seen the changeup, back in October Scott described it to Will Sammon of the Athletic as a “traditional changeup.” Previously, his changeup was thrown with a split-finger grip. He believes this new changeup will be a key part of attacking left-handed hitter, an issue he faced in 2024. Scott said, “Just being able to have a pitch that’s in the zone a little bit more and also moves a little bit better, in theory, is going to help me get more outs against left-handed hitters.”

Jonah Tong

Jonah Tong in 2025 was largely a two-pitch pitcher throwing a four-seam fastball and a changeup. This spring he is clearly looking to improve his ability to throw glove side pitches, as well as attack the bottom of the zone.

Tong has been experimenting with multiple cutter and slider shapes and we have seen two so far. His cutter comes in around 92 mph with over 15 inches of induced vertical break but only -1.1 inches of horizontal break. This lack of glove side movement prevents it from being a true bridge pitch or a strong weapon against left-handed hitters. He also did not throw it with a very high spin rate, coming in at 2,140 RPM. This pitch very much still looks like a work in progress.

His new slider on the other hand looks much more promising. At -4 inches of horizontal break it moved significantly more glove side. At 87.7 mph this pitch could serve as a bridge to his other offerings. He is clearly prioritizing getting comfortable with that pitch as he threw it 20 times in his last outing (out of 54 pitches). He also threw it with eight inches of induced vertical break and 2,032 RPM of spin.

Another issue Tong had in 2025 is that his four-seam fastball works best at the top of the zone, and does not work well down in the zone. That is why he needed to develop a sinker, a velocity pitch he can throw at the bottom or below the zone. He only threw two sinkers in his last outing, neither in the zone, but as he continues to develop the pitch it can be very useful.

He also threw a new version of his curveball four times in that start. It came in much fast at 81 mph (77.5 mph in 2025) with far less movement. This tighter curve has -5 iBV and -2 HB with 2444 RPM of spin. It is an interesting pitch to be another secondary offering to utilize against both right and left-handed hitters.

Devin Williams

Devin Williams arrived at camp looking to diversify his pitch mix and has been working on various cutter and slider shapes. In theory, these pitches should help his already strong changeup play up even more. He largely stopped throwing his slider after 2022 and largely stopped throwing his cutter after 2023, throwing it only sparingly in 2024. Even when he did throw those pitches, he never threw either of them more than 3% of the time.

Williams has clearly made it a priority to get a strong feel for these new pitches in spring. While his cutter profiles similarly to his old cutter, his slider profiles much differently.

His old slider was a lower spin pitch that spun on a 8:45 axis with over three inches of inverted vertical break and over seven inches of horizontal break. He is throwing his new slider at a 10:00 axis which should lead to less vertical break, but more horizontal break. This is a similar change to the one Paul Sewald made in 2022 with the Mariners when batters hit .148 and .306 against it. Sewald threw his slider from a much lower arm angle though coming across much more as a sweeper with very high horizontal movement. One other note on Williams new slider is that so far in spring, it is clocking in at roughly 200 more RPM of spin than in 2021.

He has thrown two cutters that have come in just shy of 90 mph, though it will likely be thrown harder in the regular season. He generated around 13 inches of induced vertical break, six inches of horizontal break, and a spin rate of 2,400 RPM. All of these can be expected to increase at least slightly with higher velocity. His sole cutter in his first game was carried out of the park and Williams stated his goal on that pitch was just to throw it for a strike. In his second appearance he threw one cutter for a called strike on the outside edge of the zone.

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