While everyone remembers that the New York Mets made a big mistake letting Daniel Murphy leave in free agency, everyone forgets they did receive a draft pick as compensation. That pick turned out to be lefty Anthony Kay, a starting pitcher from the University of Connecticut. Kay underwent Tommy John surgery shortly after being drafted, sidelining him for the remainder of 2016 and all of 2017. With his rehab concluded, Kay has finally made his professional debut this season, making him the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.
The Mets assigned Kay to Low-A Columbia to begin his pro career, and the results have been good so far. In four starts for the Fireflies, Kay is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Opposing hitters are batting just .219 against Kay, who has struck out 18 batters in 20 innings pitched while walking seven. The Mets have been high on Kay for a long time, drafting him out of Ward Melville High School (where fellow lefty Steven Matz went to high school) in 2013 before he chose to go to college. Kay’s fastball sits in the low 90’s (thanks to Amazin’ Avenue for this excellent scouting report), and he compliments it with a changeup and curve.
Scouts noted after Kay was drafted that he didn’t have the same ace level upside as fellow draftee Justin Dunn, but he does have a stable floor as a middle of the rotation type starter. The Mets would be thrilled if Kay hits that floor as it would give them a solid 3 or 4 starter to lock in behind Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. Since this is Kay’s first professional season, he will likely spend the entire year with Columbia. That could change if Kay dominates the level, which could earn him a promotion to High-A St. Lucie at some point.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
