Corey Sipkin for the NY Post
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PORT ST. LUCIE — The New York baseball organization known for pitching has another really good arm coming. But we’re going to have to wait. The Mets love flame-throwing Brandon Sproat — out of aptly named Pace High in Florida’s panhandle — so much that they drafted him high twice, and scouts see a rotation star in the making, maybe even a legit top-of-the-rotation guy. But not quite yet.
Sproat hit 102 mph last season at “Bingo,” his endearing nickname for Binghamton, where he dominated (2.45 ERA) for the club’s Double-A affiliate, and touched 99 mph his first start in big league camp this spring. He looks primed to carry on the tradition of a franchise known for producing topflight arms, from the Ryan Express to Jacob deGrom to “The Franchise” himself, Tom Seaver.
The also right-handed Sproat is a prodigy, of course, or the White Sox wouldn’t have made him the prime target in Garrett Crochet talks, and before that the Mets wouldn’t have used a third-round pick on him, then followed the next year by taking him in round two. His ETA isn’t far off, but even with two upsetting early injuries to Sean Manaea (out until mid-to-late April) and Frankie Montas (out until June, at least), it’s not imminent.
It shouldn’t be too long, however. Sproat, 24, is too good, and pitching is perpetually needed. His timetable can be marked as soon.