I’m pretty sure I heard someone ask if there were any chance the New York Mets have any prospects on the verge of getting a call up late in the season. Not sure if it was the wind, a whisper, or someone actually asking. Probably not a human asking because I know only one real Mets fan in the world and that is my father. God bless that man because for some reason he still thinks the franchise has a chance. They don’t. But maybe they could turn things around if some of their prospects get a call up.

Right now the Mets are running guys out there like Paul Sewald (4.98 ERA), their big ticket signing of Anthony Swarzak (6.30 ERA), PJ Conlon (8.22 ERA) and the list seriously does go on and on. Of course, there are some bright spots like Jacob Degrom, Syndagaard Zack Wheeler, and Seth Lugo, but not all is horrible up north. However,they need the bullpen help. Desperately. With all of those guys they somehow are 18th in the league in total ERA with a 4.29 mark. They really are in the lower tier of the league in almost every pitching category but they aren’t last. That’s something to be positive about heading into the 2nd half of the year. Some names to look out at for a potential September call up could be:

Eric Hanhold: Not a lot of talk about the former East Lake High School star and Florida Gator coming out of East Lake, Florida. The Mets acquired Hanhold as the player to be named later in the Neil Walker trade with the Brewers at the deadline last year. Coming over they tried him as a starter and he did well, but they wanted to utilize his nasty arsenal in a different way; as a closer. Armed with a mid to high 90’s fastball that has touched triple digits and a dirty slider, he has the makings of a future closer. He started in Double-A as the closer and registered 8 saves before getting moved up to Triple-A, all the while striking out more than a batter an inning. Hanhold went down with an oblique injury in June, that had him sidelined for three weeks, but is back now ready to dominate again. If the Mets bullpen doesn’t improve, which it probably wont, look out for the name Eric Hanhold either in late August or early September.

Corey Oswalt: Although he has been called up, he still has potential to help out the Mets down the 2nd half of the season. He doesn’t throw hard, but he knows how to PITCH. With a fastball in the low 90’s, he obviously isn’t going to over power anyone. His best pitch is his changeup and if you’ve ever played baseball, the best pitch in baseball is the changeup, so in other words he might have a decent career is he can keep mastering that pitch. His stats are a little deceiving with an ERA at 5.27 but his WHIP is at .98, meaning he is  effective while he’s on the mound, just seems like bad luck at the moment. He strung together 3 outings in the month of July and showed some improvement with an ERA of 3.60 and a WHIP of .80 over 15 innings. Those are the numbers are more familiar with as he has shown flashes of brilliance in the past. Last year in Double-A he went 12-5 with an ERA of 2.28 across 134.1 innings of work. For the Mets sake, lets hope that those numbers continue to trend upward and the Mets might actually have a decent pitcher for the next few years.

Justin Dunn: The Mets selected Dunn with the 19th overall pick in the 2016 MLB draft, so obviously he has potential to be a top of the rotation guy. Coming out of Boston College Dunn has had an electric fastball with a nasty slider. He also has a curveball and a changeup in his arsenal but those a just a little less developed than his fastball and slider. Now at age 22 Dunn is showing signs of why the Mets drafted 19th overall. Starting the year in High-A, Dunn dominated the Florida State League with an ERA 2.36 and struck out 51 in 45.2 innings pitched. Earning himself a promotion, he has more than held his own in Double-A with a 3.56 ERA, a WHIP of 1.29, while striking out 60 in 55.2 innings. With the Mets pitching looking scarier and scarier as the days go by, why not give a guy with a live arm to try and impact their big league club and get his feet wet. The Mets are known to make decisions not based off logical reasoning, so if Dunn doesn’t get the call this year, he is a name to watch in the 2019 season. This kid has a future.

Keep an eye out for that name Eric Hanhold. He’s going to be good when given the chance.