Mets 2025 draftee eager to prove himself post-surgery in Fall League

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Peyton Prescott was arguably the hottest college reliever in the game, on the huge stage of a Super Regional, when it happened.

He had gotten the win in Florida State's Regional opener against Bethune-Cookman, then picked up the save in Game 2 of the Super Regional to send it to the win-or-go-home Game 3 against Oregon State. He retired the first two batters he faced, pumping his typical triple-digit fastballs and nasty sliders, when he felt his elbow go, forcing him from the game and leading to many questions about the Draft-eligible sophomore's future, though that was not front of mind for the right-hander.

"I was honestly more upset that we had lost our college season than actually me getting hurt because, at the time, I didn't really know," Prescott said. "I had an idea of what it was, but I didn't for sure know what it was. It was definitely hard mentally, but I was more upset losing than actually being hurt."

Not surprisingly, the injury turned out to be a torn UCL that required Tommy John surgery. When the Draft arrived, he really had no idea what to expect. There had been some growing interest in his arm strength and competitiveness, but not every team is willing to roll the dice on a guy with a repaired elbow, and Prescott tried to manage his parents' expectations.

"I was like, 'All right, Mom and Dad, we might be sitting on this couch for a while,'" Prescott said. "And then … in the fifth round, my agent called me. He was like, 'The Mets are going to take you right here in the fifth round.' I was in shock. I couldn't even believe it. My parents couldn't believe it."

Making it even more special is that Prescott grew up a Mets fan. His father had lived in New York, and while Prescott is a life-long Floridian, he grew up going to St. Lucie for Spring Training regularly.

"[My parents] went running and got their Mets jerseys, and I was like, 'I haven't gotten drafted officially yet,'" Prescott recalled. "But that was definitely a cool moment to finally get drafted."

The Mets had done their homework, not only on Prescott's stuff but also what made him tick. Pitchers come back from TJ surgery all the time, but it's not a guarantee, so area scout Brett Campbell's history with the right-hander helped provide more confidence that he was worth the gamble.

"I have history scouting Peyton in high school, when he was a two-way guy who also played infield," said Campbell, who has over a decade of experience scouting the area, spending nine years with the Rangers and the past four Drafts with the Mets. "I liked the athleticism and arm strength; he just needed some innings in college to build out his arsenal.

"We were in early to see him at Florida State, scouted him hard, and got a bunch of looks before the injury, which put us in a good spot. He was throwing the best he had all year the weekend he blew out. I was sick for him. Ultimately, the injury allowed us to get him a little later in the Draft than he otherwise would have gone."

Not only did they get him in the fifth round, they were able to sign him for just under $200,000, more than 50 percent under slot value for the pick. He's been rehabbing to get back ever since, and he managed to finally make his official pro debut with Single-A St. Lucie with a hitless inning on Sept. 4.

So his second Arizona Fall League outing here on Saturday afternoon is really only his third pro appearance of any kind. The line -- 1 1/3 innings, four hits, three earned runs, two walks, one strikeout -- doesn't matter at all.

"It felt pretty good," Prescott said. "It was really fun going out there and competing. It's only my third pro outing, so it was good to finally get back out there and have fun with the boys and compete."

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There's plenty for him to work on, with Prescott pointing to improved fastball command, especially early on in an outing, as a priority, even if it's not yet quite back to the electric 100 mph heater he had pre-injury (he was up to 94 mph on Saturday). He wants to keep getting a better feel for his sweeper, though he did employ it effectively at times on Saturday, and continued success with his splitter, which he felt was there for him in this outing.

"Right now, what I'm focused on the most is just being healthy, going out there, being healthy, feeling good, competing with whatever I have that day," Prescott said. "I'm definitely a competitor no matter what, even if I have a day I had. … I didn't have my best stuff, but I still wanted to go out there with my team and compete."