MMO Exclusive: Right Handed Pitcher, Christian Scott

Among 512 pitchers who tossed eighty or more innings in the minor leagues in 2023, New York Mets right-hander Christian Scott recorded the lowest walks plus hits per inning pitched (0.86) and Fielding Independent Pitching (2.33) while posting the best strikeout minus walk percentage (28.4%).

Scott posted a 2.57 ERA in 87.2 innings pitched over three levels and was named the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Scott’s prospect status was elevated, particularly with his ability to induce swings and misses (16.8 SwStr%; tied for the sixth-highest mark) while limiting walks (3.6% walk rate; tied for third lowest).

Heading into the 2024 season, Scott was listed as the club’s best pitching prospect by MLB Pipeline (and the fifth-best prospect in the system), after not making the Top-30 list a year prior. Scott, selected in the fifth round in the 2021 MLB Draft out of the University of Florida, was an arm many evaluators thought would get a chance to make his major league debut this year.

After five April starts with Triple-A Syracuse, in which Scott struck out 36 batters while allowing only six walks over 25.1 innings pitched, the Florida native was promoted to the majors and debuted against the Tampa Bay Rays on the road on May 4 in front of dozens of family and friends.

Following three straight hits in the first inning to Yandy Díaz, Richie Palacios and Isaac Paredes, Scott worked out of trouble by striking out Randy Arozarena and getting Harold Ramírez to ground into an inning-ending double play. He allowed just one run on five hits with six strikeouts over 6.2 innings pitched in the Mets’ 3-1 loss. Scott became the first Met to toss at least 6.2 innings while allowing no more than one run in his major league debut since Jacob deGrom on May 15, 2014. His 18 swings and misses were tied with David Peterson (Sept. 15) and Tylor Megill (Sept. 30) for the most by a Mets pitcher in a road game in 2024.

Scott made nine major league starts in 2024, posting a 4.56 ERA over 47.1 innings. Scott’s best work came against right-handed hitters, as he limited them to a .236 weighted on-base average while posting a 0.83 walks plus hits per inning pitched and a 22 percent strikeout rate.

Following his July 21 start against the Miami Marlins on the road, Scott was placed on the IL as he was diagnosed with a right UCL sprain. The Mets were hopeful Scott would make a late-season return, going with a rest-and-rehab approach.

Unfortunately, Scott had difficulty making some of his pitches during his rehab, specifically his offspeed stuff. The 25-year-old underwent a hybrid elbow surgery in late September, combining traditional Tommy John surgery with a stabilizing internal brace for extra support.

Post-surgery, Scott has been rehabbing at the Mets complex in Port St. Lucie, along with the BARWIS Performance Center.

I had the privilege of interviewing Scott in late November, where we discussed adding pitches to his arsenal, the Mets’ pitching lab and his 2024 season.

MMO: Who were some of your favorite players when you were younger?

Scott: My mom’s from the Northeast, so I watched a lot of Red Sox games growing up. I’d say Dustin Pedroia and Jon Lester. I went to a couple of games in the 2004 and 2007 World Series. I got to see them win some games, which was a lot of fun.

MMO: At what point during your development did you start to primarily focus on pitching?

Scott: I started to really [focus on pitching] in high school, but I still hit a little bit. Going to college, I knew hitting wasn’t a possibility. Once they started throwing over 90 miles per hour, I was like, This whole hitting thing is not what they make it out to be. [Laughs.]

In college, I was a starting pitcher only. But in high school I started figuring out that I was trending in that direction.

MMO: Is it true that you played with Pedro Martínez’s son in high school? And if so, did you ever get any advice from him?

Scott: I actually played with Pedro Martínez’s son and Joe Girardi’s son, Dante. I got to talk to those guys a lot, which was really cool. I remember Pedro sitting in on one of my bullpens, and I asked him about his changeup grip. He has these really long fingers, and I tried his grip and threw the first one and sailed it. He was like, “Just stick with yours.”

Pedro is a really good guy. He would go to a lot of those games and sit down and talk with us. I’m really grateful for that as well.

MMO: What are your memories from the 2021 Major League Draft? Were the Mets on your radar?

Scott: Yeah, for sure. Before the Draft, you talk to some teams, and you get a game plan of where you could go. I knew the Mets were one of the teams that were interested. They reached out right around the fourth and fifth rounds, and took me. I talked to a lot of their staff beforehand, including the area scout (Jon Updike) about what they wanted to do.

I knew that when I got drafted, they were going to try me as a starter first. I’m grateful for that opportunity to be able to go out there and compete and be able to go long leverage innings.

MMO: You mentioned the Mets drafted you with the intention of having you start. What were those conversations early on? How was the transition going from the pen in college to the rotation professionally?

Scott: Our first conversation that we had, they told me they were going to try me as a starter. In college, I really only had two pitches: a two-seam fastball and a slider. Really early in my tenure with the Mets, they wanted to add pitches. In order to start, you need to be able to go through a lineup two, three, or four times; it’s not just one time through the lineup. Being able to have multiple weapons to put hitters away, I knew we needed to revamp my repertoire.

We banged my two-seam fastball for a four-seamer and then added a changeup that year. I added a sweeper this year as well. So just continuing to refine my repertoire and finding different ways to get both right- and left-handed hitters out. I’m very grateful for them being able to help me gain in my stuff, have confidence throwing the ball over the middle of the plate and not pitching around guys, especially not just wanting strikeouts but being able to be okay with contact.

MMO: What was the process like of adding those pitches to your arsenal?

Scott: We started with the four-seam fastball right away. The metrics were better on it, and it played better from my release angle and saw an approach angle to the plate. We knew that was the direction that I wanted to go. It was pretty easy because I threw one in high school. It was more about knowing where to locate it and throw it at the top of the zone and get above that. The location part was what we really worked on.

With the changeup, I struggled in college with a change. I never got a feel for one. I used multiple fingers on one and tried different grips with a circle change. We went to a split-change, just utilizing two fingers when I got here. I felt comfortable with that grip. It took a little bit to get used to, but it’s definitely been a huge piece for me to be able to keep hitters off balance. I’ve never really had that as a reliever, but being able to go through the lineup multiple times was important.

Last offseason, I added the sweeper. I was talking to Grayson Crawford, [Eric] Jagers, Kyle Rogers, guys like that who have been huge in my development. How to attack right-handed hitters and lefty hitters with a sweeper and build a movement profile that we want on it so that it’ll play as a fourth weapon.

MMO: Fans notice the player development hires, such as Kyle Rogers and Eric Jagers that you’ve mentioned. However, I believe many don’t grasp the extensive contributions they make across the organization. Could you share your experiences with both of them and how they’ve supported your growth?

Scott: Rogers, for example, has helped me so much with my delivery. I was looking at a side-by-side video the other day from college and pro ball, and just the night-and-day difference being able to repeat my delivery over and over again and being able to go long in games and hold velo. I’m super grateful, and he’s a really smart guy. He really helps a lot with pitch types, deliveries, sequencing and different things that we need.

Jagers has done an unbelievable job since taking over in so many facets of the game. Whether that’s going over an at-bat, reading the hitter, reading the swing, pitch types and deliveries. He’s a Swiss army knife. Having him in the organization is great.

These guys are great at what they do, and we’re grateful for them.

MMO: Can you talk a bit about the Mets’ pitching lab at Clover Park? What were some of the benefits you found from going there?

Scott: Yeah, I’ve been there a couple of times. There are things you can see on video, and there are things you may not be able to see. You can take a side angle of your delivery and see what’s going on. You’re able to really slow it down and use the high-speed cameras and the stuff we have to be able to slow down the delivery and see where you’re applying force. Maybe your force isn’t as strong in your core, or you’re able to rotate faster. Maybe you’re a rotational athlete or a linear athlete. You’re able to really find your strengths and weaknesses in your delivery that way and be able to capitalize on your strengths and maybe raise the floor on some of your weaknesses.

Being able to slow it down and take it inch by inch rather than being one still frame in your delivery. Find bits and pieces to tinker with and see what you need help with, whether it’s going on the ball of your foot when you’re driving down the mound or sitting on the heel. Little things like that to really slow it down.

MMO: Before beginning your professional career, were you familiar with the data and technology in the game?

Scott: I wasn’t too familiar with it. We went over it a little bit in college, some of the Trackman numbers and things like that. But I was never too familiar with it. I just got the ball and went out there and ripped it, and hopefully I got some swings and misses.

I didn’t have a whole lot of numbers to put my stuff behind. It’s hard to get a hold of that and be able to understand just how to pitch; to be able to go up and down and east to west. I think that is what has really helped me and my confidence in going on to compete at a high level every time I get the ball.

MMO: Command is one of your calling cards, and you do a terrific job of limiting walks. Was that something you were adept at early on, or did that develop throughout your tenure professionally?

Scott: I feel like I’ve always had a feel for throwing strikes. In college, if you walked two guys, you’re getting taken out of the game right away. You’re immediately of the mindset to throw strikes and make them beat you.

Being a starter, when you go multiple times through an order, you want to have the hitters not see as many of your pitches as you have. Let’s say you face a right-handed hitter three times, and he sees six or seven sweepers from you, then he’s going to be on time for one of those sweepers and be able to hit that. Same thing with the fastball.

The quicker that you’re able to get outs and turn the lineup over, I feel like it gives us the most success as a team to get a win. I’d rather you get a hit off me than walk somebody because it’s deeper in counts and deeper in games, and it’s not being efficient. It’s just about having confidence in zone and trust my stuff.

MMO: What are your memories from your major league debut on May 4, 2024?

Scott: It was really cool to have my family there and go out to do what I love to do and compete. It was really cool to have a bunch of family and friends there, and I got to have dinner with them after. But in the meantime, you’re focused on getting the win.

I felt like I was really on point with my stuff, especially towards the end of the game. I really fell in a groove, especially with the sweeper. Just being able to repeat that and continue to keep the fastball up in the zone and keep them off balance enough with the changeup. I had fun, and it was a blast, especially having my family and friends in attendance.

MMO: Speaking of your sweeper, I’m curious how pitchers go about getting a good feel on a new pitch. What did you incorporate regarding feedback and data for your sweeper?

Scott: You can look at the numbers on it and also just the way the hitters react to it or the way your catch partner reacts to it. You can kind of see if it’s staying on plane or if it’s diving like more of a slurve. You have the feedback of people you’re playing catch with and also able to see the numbers on Trackman. Just staying consistent with it.

If you have a release point or a cue that works for you for that time, try to repeat that and continue to stack good stones each time that you’re trying to develop a new pitch. Be able to take little achievements and eventually be able to locate that in the zone and then go away with it when you want. Just throwing it over time a bunch and also getting good feedback from it helped me out a lot.

MMO: You made nine starts with the Syracuse Mets in 2024. What were your thoughts on the automated ball-strike system for both the full ABS and the challenge system?

Scott: Honestly, I like the challenge system a little bit better. It adds another asset to the game, kind of like a strategic point to the game where you don’t want to use your challenges too early, but there are times when they’re necessary. If you have a 3-2 count and a couple of guys on, and a call doesn’t go your way, maybe you challenge that. It’s another facet for fans to enjoy where they show it on the scoreboard if it’s a strike or ball. You see how the game is played by inches, and less than an inch could be a ball or a strike. I think it gives a cool aspect to the game.

In terms of throwing to ABS, you don’t really notice it a whole lot. At least you know for sure if it was a strike or ball. You’re not getting any balls away and you’re not getting any balls in. You know you have to be in the strike zone. That was really the only adjustment; maybe you get half a ball off. When you’re throwing in ABS games, you’re going to pound the middle of the strike zone and try to get them to chase late. That’s the game plan most people have.

MMO: What were your impressions of Carlos Mendoza and Jeremy Hefner while you were up with the Mets?

Scott: I think they did an unbelievable job, just being able to stay even-keel the whole time. We had a lot of ups-and-downs during the season, but they are two rocks in our system. We’d go out and have fun but we’re also going to compete. We’re going to try and win every game we go out there and play.

I’ve got nothing but great things to say about Mendy and Hef. They’ve done an unbelievable job to help me and help me adjust. I’m super grateful to both of those guys.

MMO: You were shut down in July with a UCL sprain. Early on, there were hopes you could return later in the season. At what point did you and the team decide that having Tommy John surgery was the best course of action?

Scott: I don’t remember the exact date. I threw a couple of bullpens and was starting to raise the floors on some of the velocities. And I just didn’t feel right, especially with the offspeed pitches. I couldn’t get over that hump, and we tried a couple of different things, a couple of different changes. At the end of the day, it was probably the best option for me. I’m trying to stay positive about it.

MMO: You underwent a hybrid elbow surgery, combining Tommy John with a stabilizing internal brace. What are the benefits of adding that internal brace?

Scott: That’s correct. I went with Tommy John with the brace. There’s more support, especially early on in the process, and it just adds another layer of protection. I got a couple of recommendations from guys who’ve been there and had them and had a lot of success.

As a family, as a team and as an organization, we felt like it was the best decision, and I felt good about it. I had a lot of positive recommendations, and Dr. Keith [Meister] (who performed Scott’s surgery) is a great guy.

MMO: How has the rehab been going?

Scott: It’s going great. I’m going home in December for two weeks, but it’s been going great so far. A lot of the staff here is awesome. I know a lot of the guys down here, like Nathan Lavender. We’re hanging out and being positive about it and taking it day by day. We’re also challenging each other and pushing each other to be the best we possibly can be.

It’s been a good time going out there and trying to be positive every day. Continuing to put one foot in front of the other.

MMO: And you’re expecting to return for the 2026 season?

Scott: Yeah, I would assume so.

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