This is the second year where we are walking through the previous season’s Baseball America’s Top Prospect handbook, looking at the all the Mets to see how they are developing against Baseball America’s Projections.
So excited to get to Anthony Kay! After today, the rest of the prospects are still with the team, still bringing positive energy into my life, etc. The Mets traded for Marcus Stroman in the middle of the 2019 season giving up Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson. For the Mets, the move only makes sense if they signed Wheeler to an extension or as a free agent (neither happened) and extend Stroman (yet to happen) so there is still a risk that the trade bringing in the 2nd or 3rd best pitcher on the Mets staff has hurt them in the immediate future.
The Blue Jays got a surprise (well a surprise to people who weren’t following the Mets farm system) in Woods Richardson but Anthony Kay was the immediately ready for the big leagues prospect in the trade. In the universe where the Mets don’t make that trade and still don’t sign Wheeler, Kay is probably in the rotation this year for the Mets.
Anyway, let’s return to what BA said about him before the 2019 season and then take a look at what happened. They started off recounting the beginning of his pro career, taken 31st overall, missing his first two seasons due to TJ, etc, etc. BA’s story picks up when they talk about the change he made in 2018. Coming back from TJ, rather than relying on a fastball, he started showing an improved “top-to-bottom 80 mph curveball that he locates to both sides of the plate.” They were still impressed with his low to mid 90s fastball and the emerging change up. They end by saying he has mid-rotation potential, and they expect him to make the majors by 2020.
Well he arrived early. He pitched in 3 games and 14.0 innings last year with the Blue Jays pitching 14.0 innings, striking out 13 and putting up a 5.79 ERA, 2.64 FIP, and a 1.429 WHIP. Before the trade in Binghamton he dominated over 12 starts posting a 1.49 ERA before struggling in Syracuse in 7 games with a 6.61 ERA. But after the trade he had a 2.50 ERA in the same league with Buffalo. He seems to be slightly ahead of schedule from BA. We hope that he has a tremendous season with the Blue Jays in 2020.
