MACK - MY FRIDAY OBSERVATION. - Ryan Helsley, Brandon Sproat, 2026 IFA, Power Rankings, Pete Alonso, Carson Benge, Juan Soto, Nolan McLean, Kevin Parada

 

                             Morning Thoughts 

Armus has arrived, to join his buddies, Athos and Porthos.

The Musketeers are complete.

None of us had any money bet that Nolan McLean, Jonah Tong, and now, Brandon Sproat would be in the Queens rotation in 2025. No one. But they are here now and rest of the rotation be damned.

There is much more pressure on Sproat. Not only does he have to face major league hitting in front of, like, 500,000 people, but he has to put up results similar to the other two guppies that arrived, and produced, earlier.

The only thing I am annoyed at is that the Mets are placating the rest of the rotation and making these young arms pitch in a 6-man rotation. There current arms are built and conditioned for every fifth outing.

Still, the future has arrived and I really give a rat’s ass who is started in the rest of the games this season. There three are the guys I have written about for the past three years and I simply can’t believe they are all in the Queens dugout in 2025. It truly amazes me. 

Pitch Profiler                     @pitchprofiler

Ryan Helsley's slider has been incredible; the rest of his pitches have not been.

 

Pitch Profiler                     @pitchprofiler

Ryan Helsley throws his four-seam nearly 50% of the time.

And it lives squarely in the dead zone.

 

Mets’ problem with Ryan Helsley is getting worse

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6596239/2025/09/03/mets-ryan-helsley-pitching-problems-tigers/ 

The Mets have tried fixing Helsley’s tipping issue. Helsley said he “didn’t love” the new adjustments at first, but believes he is better off now that he has changed the positioning of his hands on the mound. Mendoza said Helsley’s struggles on Wednesday were not related to tipping.

Whether he is or he isn’t, the point is that Helsley’s struggles are not limited to tipping. He is not elevating his fastball. He is not avoiding walks. He is not hitting locations.

As Tigers designated hitter Kerry Carpenter, batting from the left side, connected on a fastball low and inside, Helsley immediately turned to watch the ball travel. If Helsley hadn’t, he would’ve missed it. The ball traveled at 106 mph off Carpenter’s bat. The three-run home run provided the game’s final margin.

After the game, Helsley said he thought his execution was “OK, could probably be a little better.”

Helsley’s track record suggests that he can turn things around, but the two-time All-Star has never encountered a stretch quite this bad before. From a metrics standpoint, his breaking pitches still seem good. And velocity remains strong; he hit 102 mph and averaged 99 mph. Also, he is not far removed from success; with the Cardinals, he had a 3.00 ERA in 36 innings. Still, immediate answers on how to fix Helsley are hard to come up with. 

 

Pitch Profiler                     @pitchprofiler

THE SPROAT GOAT HAS ARRIVED

 

What to expect from Mets prospect Brandon Sproat in MLB

https://www.mlb.com/news/what-to-expect-from-brandon-sproat-in-mlb?partnerID=web_article-share

For one thing, his average four-seam fastball velocity has improved a tick from 95.9 mph before June 28 to 97.1 mph afterward. He’s touched 100 mph four times in '25, and three of those instances have come in this 11-outing stretch. The movement on the pitch has changed slightly, too, with Sproat trading a little armside run for increased induced vertical break.

But the velo change has been the biggest highlight. With the extra heat, Sproat has improved his whiff rate on the four-seamer from 18.8 percent to 30.3 percent and cut the slugging percentage against it from .467 to .390. As such, he’s gone to the pitch even more against right-handed hitters, and it’s usurped his 95-98 mph sinker as his most-used pitch against same-side bats, albeit only slightly (24.5 percent usage vs. 22.3).

 

Mets Prospect Group                     @bkfan09

Mets have $5.4M to spend  on this 2026 Class.

MLB Power Rankings

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6586384/2025/09/02/mlb-power-rankings-brewers-yankees/

11. New York Mets (10.7)

Record: 74-64

Last Power Ranking: 12

Award nominee: Pete Alonso, Silver Slugger

This is a pretty boring pick, right? Except, no, not really, because Alonso actually has never won a Silver Slugger. He’s been an All-Star four times. He won a Rookie of the Year award, and he’s been top 10 in MVP voting a couple of times. He’s led the league in homers and he’s led the league in RBIs, but he’s never won a Silver Slugger (there was always a Paul Goldschmidt or Freddie Freeman or Matt Olson or Bryce Harper in his way). This, though, could be Alonso’s year. It’s basically a three-man toss-up among Alonso, Freeman and Harper, but Alonso might have the slight edge heading into September. — Jennings

 

Jim Bowden’s top 50 MLB prospects

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6587372/2025/09/03/top-mlb-prospects-rankings-griffin-wetherholt-mcgonigle/

22. Carson Benge, OF, New York Mets (Triple A)

Age: 22

Bats: L Throws: R

Height: 6-1 Weight: 185

Scouting Grades: HIT: 60 PWR: 50 RUN: 55 ARM: 60 FLD: 55

The Mets got a steal with Benge, whom they selected with the No. 19 pick in the 2024 draft. He was a two-way player at Oklahoma State and threw 95-98 mph from the mound. Since turning pro, he’s been a full-time position player. He is a good athlete and capable of playing all three outfield positions, while being a 20 home run/20 stolen base-type hitter. He’s “hit” over “power” and should be major-league ready sometime next year.

 

National League Players of the Month: August 2025

https://www.justbaseball.com/mlb/national-league-players-of-the-month-august-2025/

Just Missed the Podium: Juan Soto, NYM

August Stats: 131 PA, 10 HR, 27 R, 22 RBI, .277/.435/.574, 11 SB, 182 wRC+, 1.6 fWAR

A strong argument could be made for Juan Soto to make the podium, but Profar did just enough last month to earn the nod over Soto.

Soto was tied with Turang for the second most NL homers in August with 10 (which was one more than Profar), and he came in just behind Profar with a 182 wRC+. Walking over 20% of the time in typical Soto fashion, he was near the top of the leaderboard in OBP and OPS as a result.

Still, Profar had the edge in OPS thanks to a higher slugging percentage, and he had a seven-point advantage in wOBA as well. The margin between these two players was very tight, and while he didn’t crack the top three on this list, Soto deserves his flowers for what he did in the month of August.

Soto is now tied for fifth in MLB with a 155 wRC+ on the year. Sitting seventh in OPS (.915) and wOBA (.389), Soto is hitting his stride at the right time and is ready to lead the Mets down the stretch as the regular season comes to an end.

 

OptaSTATS                          @OptaSTATS

Nolan McLean of the Mets is the second MLB pitcher to go 4-0 with a sub-1.50 ERA and 25+ strikeouts over his first 4 career starts (since ERA became official in both leagues in 1913).

The other was Fernando Valenzuela in 1981.

 

Binghamton Rumble Ponies                       @RumblePoniesBB

Kevin Parada has been promoted to Triple-A Syracuse!!