Irving Cota delivers a strike in Saturday's AFL action
When the Mets selected Peyton Prescott in the 5th round of the 2025 draft, they were expecting to get a pitcher who could find his way into the middle or high end section of their rotation in a few years. That path has taken a couple of detours. After not appearing in any professional action in 2025, Prescott remained on the IL for the near entirety of the 2026 season. Pitching just one inning of work at the end of the Low-A season.
He's gone through four starts in the AFL, and after a rough first couple of outings, his last two appearances have shown that the Mets might've found something in their 5th-round pick. He's pitched two scoreless outings in five innings of work, and lowered his season ERA to 3.83. He's chalked up seven innings of work in his AFL season and struck out six in the process.
That may not seem like much, but for someone who spent nearly two years on the shelf and in a hitter-friendly league like the AFL, there's a lot to be excited about heading into 2027, so long as Prescott continues to stay healthy.
Irving Cota dominated this Spring with High-A Brooklyn. Used primarily as a reliever, he pitched to the tune of a 0.73 ERA in 24 innings of work. That earned him a promotion to Double-A Binghamton, where, unfortunately, that success didn't continue. He was rocked with a 9+ ERA before injuries cut his season short.
In the AFL, though, Cota has found his old form again. In 11 innings of work, he has a 3.27 ERA with 14 strikeouts, second on the AFL leaderboard. On Saturday, he turned in his longest bullpen outing of the season, allowing two runs in 3 and 1/3 innings with two strikeouts. He also threw a season-high 51 pitches.
Cota will be 23 by MiLB Opening Day in April. The Mets would like to see the success he had early in 2026 with Brooklyn carry over to the higher leagues. So far, in the AFL, where a good amount of the talent hails from Double-A, it looks like he might be able to launch his career further in 2027.
That would be great news for the Mets, who've now grown a reputation for producing stellar pitching prospects on the farm and turning them into more than serviceable members of their rotation and bullpen.
4 comments:
I'm sorry. I don't consider a stint in the AFL much more than a vacation from the east coast humidity.
Not many injuries there because no one is pushing themselves
Just my opinion
The team that they are on lost 20 to 4 yesterday. The good news is that not a single Mets prospect played in the game. Which means I guess, that today’s game is going to be Mets heavy.
The six teams’ ERAs are about 6.00, so pitching as well as these two have is commendable. Prescott could be a great draft pick up.
I do not know what is going on with poor control in today’s game, but in the AFL, there have been 646 walks in 800 innings. Pretty crazy. The hitters are combined about .247, so it is the walks that are driving up ERAs. Former first round Philly Aidan Miller is on the Mets team and has walked 18 times in 10 games. Crazy.
I am pleased to see Prescott pitching again with some length. These innings are very valuable for him.
Let's hope Prescott stays healthy for the year. He's got credible stuff and resilience.
Post a Comment