Mets give prospect Mike Vasil a taste of majors against Atlanta
Mets manager Buck Showalter looks on during a spring training game against the Washington Nationals, Sunday Feb. 26, 2023 in Port St. Lucie, FL. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
NORTH PORT, Fla. — Needing a pitcher to plug in for a one-off start against Atlanta on Thursday, the Mets decided to take a look at one of their more interesting and advanced arms in a farm system bereft of upper-minors options: Mike Vasil.
Vasil, a 23-year-old righthander who finished last season with High-A Brooklyn, held his own against a lineup full of A-teamers from the defending NL East champions. He allowed two runs in three innings— both on Matt Olson’s seventh homer of camp — struck out three and walked none.
“When I got the lineup last night, I looked at it and gave myself a little laugh,” Vasil said. “It doesn’t get much better than that. You just gotta have fun with it and go out and execute my stuff. There’s no better lineup to really see what you’re made of . . . Why be nervous? Think about how fun it could be if you pitch well. I think I did a pretty good job of mentally setting myself up for that.”
Manager Buck Showalter, who was impressed by Vasil during his Arizona Fall League visit in November, said: “He’s a kid that’s been on the radar for a while. We were looking for guys to pitch this game; we had some guys considered. We thought it would help him to be in this environment. I hope it does.”
In the first inning, Vasil struck out Olson on three pitches, finishing him off with a changeup. But in his next at-bat, Olson hammered a changeup very deep to rightfield.
Vasil said that pitch has been an area of focus. “Showing that can have swing-and-miss possibilities is huge for me,” he said.
Mets decision-makers have been excited about Vasil since his selection in the eighth round — a steal that late, they thought — of the 2021 draft. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the organization’s No. 11 prospect (fourth among pitchers). After just one full professional season, Vasil may be in Double-A Binghamton this year, Showalter said.
The state of the Mets’ pitching pipeline is such that if Vasil does well, there won’t be much impeding his continued rise.
“That’s an awesome thing to think about,” he said. “Definitely, your mind wanders at times and those thoughts cross your mind. But right now I’m staying present and thinking about OK, what am I going to do tomorrow to get better? What am I going to learn from this?”
Extra bases
The Mets and Atlanta tied, 2-2, after finishing with identical 101-61 records last season. “That’s something you can wax poetic about,” Showalter said . . . Starling Marte, more or less all caught up after missing early exhibition games, played a full nine innings because he “didn’t want to come out,” Showalter said . . . Brandon Nimmo (right knee and ankle sprains) collected five at-bats, including one in which he ran out a triple and felt good, in minor-league action in Port St. Lucie . . . Showalter after a cross-state drive: “There’s some things buried in those alligator pits.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
