The Mets used their first-round pick over the weekend on Carson Wiggins, even though he hasn’t thrown in a game that mattered outside of maybe a few family gatherings since 2025. If the club gets him signed, the next question comes quickly: do they keep him on the usual summer-off track, or do they try to squeeze a few innings out of him right away?
That’s the wrinkle here. In the last two seasons, the Mets have generally taken pitchers and then let them sit for the summer before their pro careers begin.
Nothing unusual about that. But Wiggins brings a different kind of conversation, one that Daniel Wexler raised on X: will he follow the same path as the other Mets pitching draft picks under David Stearns, or will the team try to get him on the mound for a brief look?
There’s a case for the Mets to do it. Even three innings from Wiggins in 2026 would give Stearns something tangible to point to, especially if those innings are clean and loud. A few dominant frames, even spaced out one at a time, would give the farm system a little lift and add a positive note to the conversation around the organization.
Stearns, though, has never seemed especially concerned with perception. If he did, he would have signed Pete Alonso and offered to personally drive him to every road game.
The Mets did not bring any of their top three pitching draft picks from last year into action, though injuries played a role in that. So far, the only one to see game action is Nathan Hall, their sixth-round pick. He has appeared in four games and thrown 5 innings, allowing just 3 hits and no runs.
That’s the kind of result the Mets would love to see from Wiggins, even if the sample is tiny. A short preview could at least give the organization a reason to feel better about where things are headed, and a reminder that 2026 might turn out to be the bump in the road everyone is hoping it is.
Of course, if it goes wrong, Stearns will hear about that too. There will be plenty of people ready to drag him for whatever decision he makes here.
If the outcome is ugly, “Another Stearns masterclass” in sarcastic font will be all over the place. He should be used to that by now.
In a world where eating pizza with a fork isn't weird, he'd get critiqued for his choice of prong he stabs into the pepperoni first.
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