The absence of star power among the New York Mets’ pitching prospects has allowed some of the farm system’s lesser-known pitchers to make names for themselves. Lefty Nate Lavender has pitched very well for AAA Syracuse and could factor into the bullpen mix at the major league level by the end of the season. The Mets’ farm system also has the current ERA leader in all of minor league baseball pitching for the Brooklyn Cyclones right now. That pitcher is righty Tyler Stuart, who is the focus of this week’s edition of Minor League Mondays.
Stuart, the Mets’ sixth-round pick in 2022 out of Southern Mississippi, has been absolutely dominant for Brooklyn this season. Over his first 12 starts for the Cyclones Stuart has gone 2-0 with a 1.44 ERA, striking out 78 batters in 62.2 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .209 against Stuart, who has an elite slider that is an out pitch along with a strong combination of four and two-seam fastballs to go with a changeup that has about seven miles per hour of separation from the fastball.
There is certainly some unique projections that can be made with Stuart, who is one of the tallest pitchers in the Mets’ farm system at 6-foot-9. The fact that Stuart is having so much success right now means that even a minor tweak can make him a truly elite pitching prospect, something that the Mets are in short supply of at the moment. MLB.com does not have Stuart ranked inside the team’s top 30 prospects as of now but his strong start to the season could certainly lead to his inclusion on future editions of those lists.
The fact that Stuart is simply dominating High-A competition should lead the Mets to promote him to AA Binghamton at some point this summer for a further challenge. The jump from A-ball to AA is often regarded as one of the most difficult transitions in professional baseball so if Stuart is able to adjust to the AA level the Mets could really have something here. Stuart’s success is great for the Mets, who could use more depth on the pitching side as they look to build a sustainable winner in the model of the Los Angeles Dodgers, something that owner Steve Cohen has aspired for since purchasing the club in 2020.
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