“We saw it firsthand at the beginning of the season,” Brooklyn Cyclones Manager Gilbert Gomez said. “This is a guy who can dominate. He’s in a good spot right now after striking out all those batters over five innings.”
He was referring to the recent success of first-year Minor League Baseball pitcher Brandon Sproat, who began his season in Brooklyn before being promoted quickly to face stiffer competition.
For Sproat, it’s been five months into the season and the former Brooklyn Cyclone is now pitching at the Mets’ highest minor league level at Triple-A Syracuse.
After starting with Single-A Brooklyn to begin the season, the Mets’ 2023 2nd round draft pick out of the University of Florida was promoted to Double-A Binghamton after just six weeks. While at Binghamton, Sproat distinguished himself on the mound and was the Mets’ only selection to the MiLB Futures All-Star Game where he threw a scoreless inning in relief.
In late July, during a 7-3 loss to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Sproat recorded a no-decision while giving up just two hits and no runs over the first two innings.
Despite the no-decision, Sproat went on to break Tom Seaver’s MLB record of 10 consecutive strikeouts, which “The Franchise” achieved on April 22, 1970 against the San Diego Padres.
After giving up the two hits, Sproat went on to strike out 11 consecutive Fisher Cats over the course of five innings as part of a dominant 13-strikeout performance.
Following his record-breaking strikeout performance, Sproat hit the Trifecta as he was named the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week (July 29 – Aug. 4) and then promoted to Triple-A Syracuse.
While at Binghamton, Sproat made a total of 11 starts over 62.1 innings with a 6-2 record along with 77 strikeouts. In addition, his 2.05 ERA ranks third in the MiLB, along with an impressive 0.94 WHIP and a .170 BAA (batting average against).
Cyclones Pitching Coach Dan McKinney also commented on Sproat’s emergence.
“His improvement is based on cutting down his walk rate and the confidence that he’s built up at Double-A. It’s a credit to his pitching coach, A. J. Sager — one of the best in the minor leagues.”
In addition to Sproat’s 99 MPH fastball, McKinney explained that his effective “sweeper” has accounted for his recent success.
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