The All-Star Break is officially here but the festivities kicked off on Saturday night as the best prospects in the game participated in the All-Star Futures Game at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The game was pretty one-sided as the National League picked up a 5-0 win but the New York Mets had just one player participate in the contest this season. That player is RHP Mike Vasil, whose performance is the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.
Vasil was one of the last players to enter the game for the NL side as he came on to start the seventh and final inning. Things got off to a rocky start for Vasil as he walked his first batter but he recovered to strike out Angels’ prospect Kyren Paris to complete a scoreless third of an inning.
Mike Vasil recorded a strikeout in the Futures Game
(via @MetsPlayerDev) pic.twitter.com/DpA0ChVqHh
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) July 9, 2023
This is likely the first time that many Mets fans have seen Vasil, who has quickly become one of the organization’s most prized pitching prospects and the one with the quickest path to the majors. Vasil’s delivery is very similar to that of current New York Yankees’ ace Gerrit Cole, who will start the All-Star Game for the American League tomorrow. Several local outlets talked to Vasil in Seattle where he described using his status as a later draft pick as motivation to fuel his rise, much like how Tom Brady took the slight of being taken with the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft to to become the greatest quarterback of all time.
The Mets would happily sign for a productive big-league career out of Vasil, who is currently pitching for AAA Syracuse and will likely stay down there for the remainder of the season. Time will tell if Vasil proves everyone wrong and makes the Mets look like geniuses for taking him in the eighth round in 2021 out of Virginia.
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