Scouting Report

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 40

A potential high pick out of Massachusetts in 2018 if not for an arm injury, Vasil was inconsistent during his three years at the University of Virginia and dropped to the Mets in the eighth round in 2021. He threw 71 1/3 innings in his first full season while working around forearm tightness and bone spurs in his elbow and added six more appearances in the Arizona Fall League. Vasil’s healthier breakout came in 2023, when he opened with a 3.71 ERA, 0.84 WHIP and 57/8 K/BB ratio through 10 Double-A starts (51 innings). His numbers (5.30 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 38 walks in 73 innings) took a drop at Triple-A Syracuse, but his career-high 124 total frames was a solid positive.  

Vasil transitioned from a two-seam fastball in college to a four-seamer, and while the pitch touched 97 mph last season, it’s typically closer to the 92-95 range. Vasil’s velocity did tick down as the season wore on – he averaged around 92.7 mph in September – but the workload may have played a part. His mid-80s slider acts like a two-plane cutter and gets swing-and-miss down and away from fellow righties, fueling his strikeout rate at the upper levels, and he'll also show a breaker with more sweep. He can mix in a 78-81 mph downer curveball as a breaking-ball option for lefties, while his mid-80s changeup has some fade but is a clear fourth option. 

The 6-foot-5 hurler’s walk rate jumped from 4.1 percent at Double-A to 11.7 at Triple-A, where he had to deal with the ABS system. He should still throw enough strikes to remain a starter and could get even better as he gets more comfortable working 120+-inning seasons. Vasil hasn't pushed for the Majors quite as hoped in his age-24 season in 2024 and is trending more toward being a depth arm than a key piece of future rotations in Queens.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50

A possible high 2018 pick out of Boston College High School, Vasil opted to head to the University of Virginia following an arm injury that may have dinged his stock. He was inconsistent in his three years as a Cavalier, causing him to fall to the eighth round to the Mets in 2021. He sported a 3.53 ERA with 85 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings last season, mostly at Single-A and High-A, but he was limited due to forearm tightness and bone spurs in his elbow. He made up for the lost time with six Arizona Fall League appearances.

The Mets immediately got to work on getting Vasil more athletic in his delivery and eliminating the two-seamer that sat 91-92 mph in college. He averaged 93-95 mph with his newly reworked four-seamer, though velo could be inconsistent, and he had good spin in the 2,300-2,500 rpm range. He also credited New York for working on his upper-80s cutter-ish slider, making it more vertical to help play off the high heat. His low-80s curveball with good downward bite accomplishes the same goal, while his mid-80s changeup is a clear fourth pitch that shows some potential.

Vasil’s walk rate was downright stellar at Double-A Binghamton to begin 2023, giving added faith that he can be a future Major League starter. The control has gone a little wayside as he's been squeezed by the ABS system at Triple-A, but he should still throw enough strikes to compete for a job in the New York rotation coming out of next spring.

Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45

There was talk of Vasil going high in the 2018 Draft out of Boston College High School, but after suffering an arm injury, he told clubs that he was planning to head to the University of Virginia. He put up rough numbers as a freshman with the Cavaliers, seemed to rebound in 2020 before the shutdown and was inconsistent in his junior spring. He finished that final season with a 4.52 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 81 2/3 innings. Despite being MLB Pipeline’s No. 111 Draft prospect last summer, Vasil fell to the eighth round and signed with the Mets for exact slot at $181,200.

It’s too early to say for sure, but Vasil is already showing the makings of being a pro-development success story. Previously a two-seam fastballer in college who sat around 91-92 mph, Vasil worked with the Mets right away on transitioning toward the four-seam fastball. His velocity appropriately picked up, and he’s now around 92-95, topping out around 97. That’s closer to what he looked like in his more promising high-school days. His upper-80s slider and low-80s curve draw at least average reviews, and it’s to his credit that he can show multiple breaking ball looks. A mid-80s changeup looked like his best secondary coming out of school, but the hard slider might overtaken it at this stage. 

Even when his stuff didn’t stand out, the 6-foot-5 right-hander was showing promising gains in his strike-throwing in Charlottesville, and the Mets have worked with him on becoming even more athletic in his delivery. Vasil might need to show that his improvements can hold up for an entire season before he makes a massive jump in the rankings, but he may have already bumped up his ceiling some from a back-end starter to a mid-rotation one.

Video scouting report »

Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 50 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45

At the start of the spring of 2018, Vasil had jumped into first-round conversations as a Boston-area high school pitcher with a ton of upside and projection. An arm issue had slowed him, then he informed teams he didn’t want to be drafted so he could head to the University of Virginia. After a rough freshman year, Vasil has been a beacon of consistency in Virginia’s rotation, serving as the Saturday starter in 2021.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander hasn’t exactly developed into the frontline starter teams envisioned, but does have the kind of repertoire and feel for pitching that points to a future in a big league rotation. He’ll throw his fastball in the 90-95 mph range, touching the upper ranges early in the game, but mostly settling in around 91-92 mph. He’ll throw both a curve and slider, and while some scouts have seen flashes of a plus breaking ball, he typically shows an average ability to spin it. His changeup is probably his best secondary offering, one that is above-average and can serve as an out pitch at times.

While Vasil hasn’t become the Roger Clemens-redux type pitcher some envisioned, he’s greatly improved his strike-throwing ability this year and now looks like a guy with at least three pitches who knows how to use all of them and command them well. That might mean a limited ceiling as a No. 4 or 5 starter, but a team taking him knows what it's getting.

Awards

Futures Game Selection

Year	Team
2023

EAS Pitcher of the Month

Month	Team
05/2023

FCL Pitcher of the Week

Week	Team
09/12/2021

Transactions

Team	Date	Transaction
	02/01/2024	New York Mets invited non-roster RHP Mike Vasil to spring training.
	07/16/2023	Syracuse Mets activated RHP Mike Vasil.
	07/16/2023	Syracuse Mets placed RHP Mike Vasil on the temporarily inactive list.
	07/07/2023	National League Futures activated RHP Mike Vasil.
	07/07/2023	Syracuse Mets placed RHP Mike Vasil on the temporarily inactive list.
	06/12/2023	RHP Mike Vasil assigned to Syracuse Mets from Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
	03/29/2023	RHP Mike Vasil assigned to Binghamton Rumble Ponies from Brooklyn Cyclones.
	03/23/2023	RHP Mike Vasil assigned to New York Mets.
	03/23/2023	RHP Mike Vasil roster status changed by New York Mets.
	09/16/2022	Peoria Javelinas activated RHP Mike Vasil.
	09/16/2022	Peoria Javelinas activated RHP Mike Vasil.
	08/31/2022	Brooklyn Cyclones activated RHP Mike Vasil from the 7-day injured list.
	08/25/2022	Brooklyn Cyclones sent RHP Mike Vasil on a rehab assignment to St. Lucie Mets.
	08/22/2022	Brooklyn Cyclones sent RHP Mike Vasil on a rehab assignment to FCL Mets.
	08/22/2022	Brooklyn Cyclones sent RHP Mike Vasil on a rehab assignment to FCL Mets.
	07/01/2022	Brooklyn Cyclones placed RHP Mike Vasil on the 7-day injured list.
	05/23/2022	RHP Mike Vasil assigned to Brooklyn Cyclones from St. Lucie Mets.
	04/07/2022	RHP Mike Vasil assigned to St. Lucie Mets from FCL Mets.
	09/07/2021	RHP Mike Vasil assigned to FCL Mets.
	07/23/2021	New York Mets signed RHP Mike Vasil.
	02/14/2019	RHP Mike Vasil assigned to Virginia Cavaliers.
	08/08/2017	RHP Mike Vasil assigned to PG West.