Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 17 seasons full-time on the beat. |
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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Two years ago, in his endless quest for velocity, Ryan Lambert came across an internet video citing the benefits of eating raw eggs. Lambert, a relief pitcher who had recently been cut from his college team, wanted to build muscle and increase his recovery rate. He decided to eat 30 raw eggs per day for a month. “Day 1, it was an adjustment for sure,” Lambert said. “But I’m not a chicken. I like a little adversity and challenge. It kind of gets me going.” For Lambert, a daily cup of egg goop is only part of his story. The 23-year-old is fanatical about his diet, grilling steak and cooking sweet potatoes most days. During a Minor League game in Maryland last year, he took Jonah Tong to a Brazilian steakhouse and ordered a bowl of chicken hearts. On occasion, Lambert will walk around the clubhouse dining room to examine his teammates’ plates for nutritional value. “He saw me put an extra creamer in my coffee today and he was like, ‘Come on, dude,’” outfielder Nick Morabito said. Much of what fuels this radicalism is Lambert’s belief that it works. The organization’s 20th-ranked prospect following the 2025 season, Lambert is the hardest-throwing pitcher in camp. During the earliest days of Spring Training, he hit 99.6 mph on the radar gun. He eclipsed 100 mph last year -- “100.9 to be exact,” as Lambert put it -- while producing a 1.62 ERA over 46 appearances mostly for Double-A Binghamton. His goal this year is to hit 101 mph without rounding up. He thinks 102 or higher is possible. |
If Lambert can harness that velocity within the strike zone while continuing to refine his secondary pitches, he could help the Mets as soon as this season. “Electric,” was how manager Carlos Mendoza described Lambert after his first Grapefruit League outing, in which he struck out three of the four batters he faced. “If he throws strikes, man, he could be special.” Yet Lambert’s career hasn’t always looked so fruitful. In his sophomore year at Missouri State, Lambert walked as many batters (seven) as he recorded outs. He made just five appearances, forfeiting opportunities because of his lack of control. The coaching staff lost patience with him. After the season, Lambert was cut from the team. On the day he drove back home to Minnesota, Lambert called up friends to ask if they would film him throwing a bullpen session. An emotional Lambert took the mound and, in his words, began throwing “heaters from the heart.” He hit 99 mph that day, a personal best, then uploaded the video to Twitter. The post received nearly a quarter of a million views, including from college recruiters looking to dip into the transfer portal. One of them, the recruiting coordinator at the University of Oklahoma, took a particular interest, traveling to the independent Northwoods League to watch Lambert pitch. “I got this guy. I just watched him last night. He throws 100,” the coordinator told Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson the next day. “What is his name?” Johnson replied. “Ryan Lambert,” came the reply. “Are you kidding me? He’s got like 18 walks in nine innings,” Johnson said. “I’m like, ‘[Expletive], here we go. I get all the misfits.’” Johnson took a chance on Lambert anyway, and while the right-hander remained wild at Oklahoma, he showed enough promise for the Mets to select him in the eighth round of the 2024 Draft. Since then, Lambert has continued to refine his craft. In addition to his diet, he is militant about his sleep, rising at 8 a.m. every day during the offseason and stepping immediately into the sun to regulate his Circadian rhythm. He spends hours in the gym lifting weights and throwing pull-downs -- max-effort tosses with a running start -- to increase his velocity. |
Results have clearly followed. Last season, his rate of 14.6 strikeouts per nine innings ranked fifth among the 1,383 Minor League pitchers with at least 50 innings. This year, Lambert is tinkering with a changeup that could help him against lefties. “He’s the best,” Mets director of player development Andrew Christie said. “I feel like that is the exact attitude needed to be a high-leverage reliever in the Major Leagues. Exactly.” While he no longer eats 30 raw eggs per day, Lambert still puts down around 10 or so on a regular basis. It’s an expensive habit, given that the price he used to enjoy at his local Oklahoma Walmart -- five dozen for around $5 -- no longer exists. Consider that all the incentive in the world for Lambert to reach the Majors sooner rather than later. |
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MLB MORNING LINEUP PODCAST |
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Who has thrown the fastest pitch for the Mets in the pitch tracking era (since 2008)? A) Edwin Díaz B) Ryan Helsley C) Bobby Parnell D) Noah Syndergaard |
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B) Ryan Helsley Although Helsley’s brief Mets tenure was largely unsuccessful, he set the franchise record with a 103.8 mph fastball last Aug. 9. Parnell had held the previous record for 14 years. |
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