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Mets' top pitching prospect, Jose Butto, likely to make debut Sunday

Originally posted on Sportsnaut | By Jason Burgos | Last updated 8/20/22

Jose Butto, arguably the best pitching prospect in the New York Mets farm system, is reportedly in line to make his MLB debut on Sunday versus the Philadelphia Phillies.

The biggest story this week for the Mets — beyond a few more Ws in the win column — was the first week at the big-league level for second-ranked prospect Brett Baty. Earlier in the week, New York incurred injuries to both members of their third-base platoon, Luis Guillorme and Eduardo Escobar. The injuries opened the door for Baty to get the call when the Mets were publicly hesitant about promoting one of their elite prospects in the midst of a playoff race.

Nevertheless, there was a desperate need and the third baseman was one of the organization’s hottest players at Triple-A. Thus far, the 22-year-old has been solid, going 3 for 13 in his first four starts, with a home run, two runs scored and four runs batted in.

Well, a spell of injuries has now hit the Mets’ talented pitching staff. Right-hander Carlos Carrasco suffered an oblique strain earlier this week and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks. Making matters worse, is the fact that an MRI revealed on Thursday that Taijuan Walker has a bulging disc and the injury forced him out of his planned start this weekend. After a doubleheader on Saturday, the team is in serious need of a live arm to take the mound on Sunday afternoon.

Jose Butto is rumored to make New York Mets debut on Sunday versus Phillies

However, the source of the rumors pointing to Butto starting is former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who is also a member of the organization’s board of directors. On Friday afternoon, he told the New York sports radio show “The Carton & Roberts Show” that “If Taijuan Walker is not pitching on Sunday, get ready for Met rookie ‘phenom’ Jose Butto.”

Walker is out and Butto making his debut seems very likely. He is ranked 15 among the team’s 50 best minor leaguers. The 24-year-old recently made his Triple-A debut after pitching the majority of 2022 in Double-A. Across those two levels, he has a 4.12 ERA in 20 starts. However, he has been a strikeout machine as he’s racked up 111 Ks in 98.1 innings this year.

Here is a breakdown of the pros and cons of Butto’s game via MLB.com:

“The Venezuela native is around 92-94 mph with his fastball, touching 96 mph at times, and it comes with an above-average spin rate as well. Perhaps the fastball’s greatest asset, though, is the way it plays off Butto’s low-80s changeup, which is easily his best offering. The change already gets tremendous separation off the fastball and fools hitters further with its depth. The righty will also mix in a low-80s curveball, but throws it with below-average consistency and bite.

Butto hides the ball well in his delivery and throws a healthy amount of strikes, aiding his quest to be a potential Major League starter. The changeup keeps his splits in line — lefties had a .712 OPS against him in ’21, compared to a .699 OPS for righties — but the lack of a third pitch means he might struggle seeing Major League hitters a second or third time through the order.”

This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission.

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