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Jonathan Santucci The Latest Standout In A Long Line Of Promising Mets' Pitching Prospects
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- Jonathan Santucci The Latest Standout In A Long Line Of Promising Mets' Pitching Prospects
In the non-stop roller-coaster ride that best describes the New York Mets ' 65 seasons of existence, the franchise has been consistently good at one thing: identifying and developing pitching prospects.
Homegrown hurlers Tom Seaver (198), Dwight Gooden (157), Jerry Koosman (140) and Ron Darling (99) rank Nos. 1 through 4 in all-time wins while wearing a Mets uniform, while fellow farm-system products Jacob deGrom (T7th, 82), Jon Matlack (T7th, 82) and Bobby Jones (10th, 74) also land in the top 10.
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Even the ones that don't quite pan out - like the erstwhile "Big Three" of Paul Wilson, Bill Pulsipher and Jason Isringhausen - are sometimes able to capture the imagination of MLB observers, like that trio did for a couple of seasons in the mid-1990s before injuries forced their breakup.
As the Mets look to rebound from throughly disappointing 2025 and 2026 seasons that resulted in a combined 157-167 record with no playoff appearances, it appears as if homegrown pitching will lead the way again.
In his first full season, 25-year-old right-hander Nolan McLean led the staff with 31 starts and 179.2 innings pitched with a 12-10 record, 3.16 ERA and 194 strikeouts, which was good for a 3.0 WAR. Those numbers will easily land McLean in the top five of NL Rookie of the Year voting.
He was joined for a combined 38 starts by fellow rookies Christian Scott, 27, and Zac Thornton, 24. Together, they threw 194.1 innings and won nine games with both posting ERAs below 4,00, 3.42 for Thornton and 3.85 for Scott. Those efforts resulted in each posting a 1.7 WAR.
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And there appear to be more more homegrown arms on the horizon, the most promising of which may be left-hander Jonathan Santucci.
Drafted in the second round, No. 46 overall, out of Duke University in 2024, Santucci stamped his name as one to watch this season at Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. In 27 combined starts and 125 innings at those two stops, he recorded a minor-league leading 163 strikeouts.
His 3.57 ERA and 120 strikeouts in just 90.2 innings at Binghamton also earned him a spot on the Double-A Eastern League's 2026 All-Star team .
Those numbers also helped Santucci earn selection as the Met's pitching " Prospect of the Year " from MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, who also rank him as the Mets' No. 2 overall prospect and a leading contender for a rotation spot in 2027.
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Of course, if the Mets are to eventually experience any type of sustained success at the MLB level, they'll also have to keep developing MLB-capable hitting talent.
One of those who could find his way to Citi Field soon is second baseman/shortstop Mitch Voit, the team's No. 4 prospect, and the recipient of MLB Pipeline's New York hitting Prospect of the Year award.
Drafted 38th overall out of the University of Michigan in 2025, Voit, who turned 22 on Sept. 30, played 76 games at High-A Brooklyn in 2026 before really strutting his stuff with Binghamton, which he joined on July 27.
In 29 games with the Rumble Ponies, he recorded a .347 average and .947 OPS in 118 at-bats with 12 doubles, two homers and nine steals, which gave him a combined 45 swipes, an organizational best, this season between his two stops.
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Most notably, in his first two weeks at Binghamton he was named the Eastern League Player of the Week twice. In his first 11 games at Double-A - which encompasses both award-winning weeks - he went 22-for-40 (.550) with an otherworldly 1.483 OPS thanks to a homer, seven doubles and a triple during his red-hot fortnight.
If he keeps developing at his current pace, Callis and Mayo reckon that Voit will earn a spot somewhere in the Mets' infield no later than the 2028 season.
