While all of the hype around the New York Mets' pitching prospects seems to surround Christian Scott, it is easy to forget that the Mets had a pitcher appear in the Future's Game last year. Starter Mike Vasil was all the rage at this time last year, dominating at AA Binghamton and earning a promotion to AAA Syracuse to end the season, but there has been little buzz about him this season. Let's take a look at why we haven't heard much from Vasil in this week's edition of Minor League Mondays.
Vasil, the Mets' eighth-round pick in 2021 out of Virginia, had solid performances across the lower minors in 2021 and 2022 before beginning last season with AA Binghamton. The Eastern League was a good match for Vasil, who went 1-2 with a 3.71 ERA in 10 starts, striking out 57 batters in 51 innings pitched and holding opponents to a .187 batting average against him. That effort helped Vasil represent the Mets in last summer's Futures Game in Seattle, where he racked up a strikeout during his appearance.
The Mets bumped Vasil up to AAA after that and he finished the year with Syracuse, going 4-4 with a 5.30 ERA in 16 starts as he struggled to adjust to the league's ABS system, which is a test system of automatic balls and strikes. Vasil was assigned to repeat the level this year and has gotten off to a tough start, going 3-4 with a 6.52 ERA in his first 59.1 innings pitched of the season.
The ABS system appears to be a lingering issue for Vasil, who has already walked 26 batters this season after walking only 46 in 124 innings a year ago. The good news is that Vasil has looked better over his past two starts, offering some hope that he is beginning to figure out how to overcome the ABS system and execute his pitches for strikes.
The stuff is there for Vasil to be a solid big league starter as he has a good four-seam fastball that touched 97 miles per hour last season to go along with a strong slider and curveball. Vasil also has a changeup as a fourth offering but his top three pitches should be good enough to get out big league hitters in the future.
The rest of this season will be a good gauge for Vasil's viability as a big league starter since the ABS system is being modified to a challenge only version, meaning umpires will call balls and strikes like they do in the majors with teams having a pair of challenges during the game. If Vasil, the Mets' 11th-best prospect according to MLB.com, can improve down the stretch it should offer renewed optimism of his potential to step into the big league rotation in the future.
The Mets' current situation has changed drastically as they are now firmly in the wild card hunt, meaning they won't be looking to let Vasil get a cup of coffee in the majors unless he either earns it with improved performance or the team falls out of the race in September. Scott, Jose Butto and Joey Lucchesi all figure to be options for the Mets ahead of Vasil, which is a good thing since he still needs to master the AAA level before getting a call to Flushing. If Vasil can recapture the form that earned him a Futures Game invite in 2023, he should have an opportunity to compete for a job in the Mets' rotation next spring.