Anthony Kay
AP Photo

Excelling at Double-A Binghamton, the New York Mets decided that LHP Anthony Kay was ready for the next level. Will we see him in the big leagues in 2019?

After a somewhat shaky 2018 season, 2019 was set up to be a big year in the Mets system for Anthony Kay.

He has answered the bell.

Through 12 starts at Double-A, the lefty went 7-3 with a 1.49 ERA and 0.92 WHIP. In his final start on Saturday, he struck out nine over 5.1 shutout innings.

He got the call-up to Triple-A Syracuse on Sunday and is ready to attack the opportunity.

“You think about [reaching the majors] pretty much every day, regardless of where you’re at,” Kay told Newsday’s Tim Healey. “But at the end of the day, you need to be able to do the work now to get there.”

Interestingly, Kay’s promotion comes at a time when the Mets rotation is healthy and pitching as well as they have all season.

This has led to an intriguing question: Will we see Kay in the big leagues this year?

Kay does not currently occupy a spot on the team’s 40-man roster, but he is certainly on their minds.

“We’ve talked a lot about Anthony,” manager Mickey Callaway told the New York Post late last month. “There are still some things we would like to see before we give him a chance, but he is on the radar.”

Kay’s path is becoming strikingly similar to fellow Stony Brook native Steven Matz‘s in 2015.

Also pitching at both Double-A and Triple-A in 2015, Matz made his Major League debut in late June of that year. Matz would go on to make six starts and go 4-0 for the Mets down the stretch.

However, Kay’s quickest path to the majors might come in a different form.

With Jason Vargas pitching the best he has in a Mets uniform, it is unlikely that he would be bumped from the rotation in the near future. This could present an opportunity for Kay to contribute out of the bullpen.

Outside of Seth Lugo, anyone the Mets have called on to hold a lead have been unreliable. Offseason addition Justin Wilson has spent more time on the IL than in the bullpen. Kay would have the talent to cut his teeth holding leads this season and join the rotation in 2020.

It is expected that Kay will make his Syracuse debut on Thursday vs. the Charlotte Knights. Time will tell if he’ll get that final promotion in 2019.

For the latest on all things Mets, follow ESNY and Teddy Rydquist on Twitter @EliteSportsNY @TeddyRydquist.

A 2018 graduate of Bowling Green State University, Rydquist has been covering the New York Mets for ESNY since 2019. In addition to his work here, he covers Michigan football recruiting for FanSided and NASCAR for CATCHFENCE. He can be found on Twitter @TeddyRydquist.