mike vasil mets
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There has been plenty of discussion about the impact Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez, and Mark Vientos have had at the big-league level. So much so, in fact, that they’ve been dubbed the “Baby Mets”.

But do you know what New York doesn’t have a lot of in the minor-league system right now? Top pitching prospects. The last wave came through during the organization’s last competitive window. It featured the likes of Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, and Steven Matz. You remember those guys, right?

This is part of the reason why Billy Eppler spent most of the Mets’ money this past winter on veteran starting pitchers. The majority are in Queens on short-term deals, allowing New York to try and thread the needle of winning right now while also attempting to rebuild the farm system.

But it’s not completely barren, ya know. Five of the organization’s top 10 prospects are pitchers. Only two are above High-A right now, though. That would be Dominic Hamel and Make Vasil.

Of these two, Vasil’s early-season performance has put him on a trajectory that could land him in Queens at some point this summer or fall. The right-hander played across three different levels in 2022. It included a 2.19 ERA in 37 innings for St. Lucie, a 5.19 ERA in 33.1 innings for Brooklyn, and then a 2.93 ERA in 15.1 innings during the Arizona Fall League.

His 2023 campaign began in Binghamton. If he keeps pitching how he currently is, he may not be there for long. He’s racked up 37 frames in Double-A, posting a 2.19 and 0.70 WHIP with 46 strikeouts.

Vasil hasn’t allowed more than three earned runs in any of his seven starts this year. However, his last three have been better than the rest. He’s lasted at least six innings in each appearance, racking up 21 frames overall. The University of Virginia product has allowed just one run (a solo home run) on eight hits and four walks during that time. Opposing hitters have posted a .319 OPS against him during this period.

So, when could we see the 23-year-old in Queens? MLB.com has Vasil’s estimated time of arrival set for 2024 at the moment, which is probably the most likely outcome. But depending on how things go over the next few months, it could be sooner.

SNY’s Joe DeMayo spoke to scouts who have seen Vasil pitch this season and had some encouraging/interesting things to say (via SNY):

I spoke to three different scouts who have seen Vasil this year, and they’ve all told me there is little doubt that he is a future big-league starter.

One of them said they believe he has the potential to be a No. 3-type of starter, and the other two said No. 4 or No. 5 type. The biggest point that stood out to me is they all said they would not be surprised if Vasil potentially made his big-league debut later this summer.

The Mets entered 2023 with what looked like enviable depth in their starting rotation. We knew they’d need every bit of it this year. Less than two months into the regular season, that’s already been the case. So, if Vasil gets promoted to Triple-A soon and continues to perform, it’s not outrageous to think he could at least get a spot start at some point within the next few months.

You can reach Matt Musico at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.

Matt Musico is an editor for ESNY. He’s been writing about baseball and the Mets for the past decade. His work has been featured on numberFire, MetsMerized Online, Bleacher Report, and Yahoo! Sports.