Photo by Ed Delany, MMN
Left-handed pitching prospect Thomas Szapucki is heading up (down?) to the St. Lucie Mets, according to MMN’s Ernest Dove.
Szapucki, 23, has had an up-and-down first year back from Tommy John surgery but will be leaving Columbia with a 2.08 ERA through 11 outings. Of course, he’s been held to a strict pitch count with the Fireflies and has only worked 21 2/3 innings.
The 2015 fifth-round draft pick burst onto the radar with a stellar 2016 season in which he posted a 1.38 ERA with an off-the-charts 42% strikeout rate in nine starts between Kingsport and Brooklyn. He pitched well through six starts with Columbia in 2o17 before being shut down with a torn UCL.
In addition to the elbow surgery, injuries have plagued Szapucki since he was drafted. His 2017 season didn’t even get started until June after rehabbing a shoulder impingement, while he pitched through back problems in 2016. It’s the main reason why he’s just reaching High-A now despite staring down Rule 5 eligibility this winter.
A healthy and productive Szapucki goes a long way in establishing the Mets’ crop of young pitching prospects.
