Is Anthony Kay headed for Triple-A?

Anthony Kay has made a name for himself this season with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. After 10 starts, Kay has put up a 6-2 record with an ERA of 1.28 and 56 strikeouts in 56.1 innings. One of his most impressive starts of the season came on Monday, May 20 against the Bowie Baysox, where Kay put up seven hitless innings, with one walk and seven strikeouts. With these numbers, a Triple-A promotion doesn’t seem to be far off.

Anthony Kay was first drafted by the Mets straight out of high school in the 29^th round of the 2013 MLB Draft, but decided not to sign and attended the University of Connecticut to play baseball. Kay was again picked by the Mets in the 2016 MLB Draft as the 31^st Overall Pick, which the Mets received from the Washington Nationals after their division rival signed Daniel Murphy as a free agent. In October 2016, Kay had Tommy John surgery to repair a torn UCL in his left elbow, which led to him to miss the entire 2017 season. Kay returned in 2018, putting up a 4.54 ERA with 73 hits, 78 strikeouts and 22 walks over 69.1 innings for the Columbia Fireflies before being promoted to the St. Lucie Mets halfway through the season. While in St. Lucie, Kay pitched 53.1 innings with a 3.88 ERA, 51 hits, 45 strikeouts and 27 walks.

Kay has picked things up since 2018, and has caught the eyes of many fans. The Mets’ eighth-ranked prospect has twice as many strikeouts than hits this season, and has put up a WHIP of 0.85. Kay is no stranger to changing teams halfway through the season, and it seems like he is ready to take on the challenge. While the Mets have players like Chris Mazza, who was named International League Pitcher of the Week last week, going back and forth between Double-A and Triple-A, they should put Kay into the rotation for the Syracuse Mets to see what he can do against Triple-A hitters. It is not a secret that the Mets’ starting rotation has struggled throughout the first two months of this season; it is possible that Kay could be summoned up to the big leagues if their woes continue.

While the Mets have previously promoted players straight from Double-A, like Michael Conforto in 2015, it would be ideal to give Kay some time to adjust to more developed hitters in Triple-A to see if he can handle himself and can give the Mets what they are looking for on the mound.