PORT ST. LUCIE -- The pop of the glove was loud, louder than most. From his first pitch in a live BP session against some of the Mets’ best hitters, Christian Scott’s fastball was hard not to notice.
“You saw it today,” manager Carlos Mendoza said afterward. “That way that fastball exploded, it was impressive. He was throwing it by guys out there.”
Added Bo Bichette: “He has a good live fastball. It’s hard to catch up with when it’s up in the zone. And he throws from a low arm slot, which adds deception. I was impressed.”
And with that, Scott, who turns 27 in June, seemingly has put himself back on the Mets’ radar as he returns from Tommy John surgery that caused the right-hander to miss the entire 2025 season.
Scott, remember, burst on the scene in 2024, opening eyes with his early success, due in part to the late-life fastball that could dominate big-league hitters.
His need for a more complete repertoire soon became obvious, as he made mistake-pitches, especially with his breaking stuff, but the promise was still there when he went down with the elbow injury.
Now, with what he says is a better cutter and changeup to go with his fastball, Scott is feeling confident about working his way back to the big leagues, a feeling confirmed by his first session against the Mets’ top hitters.
“It felt good today,” he said. “I feel like I can get anybody out when I’m commanding my pitches. My fastball was playing up today. It feels like the velo has come back really well.”
Scott gave only a couple of hard-hit balls among his 34 pitches, one being a gap shot to right-center by Jorge Polanco, and afterward he made a point of mingling with the hitters behind the protective screen at home plate to get some feedback from the likes of Juan Soto and Marcus Semien, among others.
“I wanted to get some feedback about my pitches from such great hitters,” Scott said. “It was good to hear, they said my fastball was really good and my changeup and curveball had some deception.
“I’m working on the off-speed stuff. I need to get more ground balls, especially against left-handed hitters. That will make my fastball play up even more.”
Mendoza said the Mets are encouraged by what they’re seeing from Scott, yet will be careful not to push him as he returns from the injury.
“He’s got to pitch [in spring games],” said Mendoza, “and then we’ll see where he’s at.”
At the very least Scott gives the Mets insurance against injury to their projected starting rotation. But his stint on the mound Monday was a reminder he could be much more than that at some point in the 2026 season.
Christian Scott is on the mound this morning for Live BP 💪 pic.twitter.com/o36LQHA72K
— SNY (@SNYtv) February 16, 2026