New York Mets: Kyle Regnault stands on doorstep to the big leagues thanks to second chance at AFL

Scottsdale, Arizona —— For the second time in three years, the New York Mets have sent left-handed pitching prospect Kyle Regnault to the Arizona Fall League, this year as a member of the Scottsdale Scorpions. The 28-year-old lefty has an incredible backstory, having spent several seasons pitching in the independent leagues to start his career after nobody drafted him out of college at the University of Rhode Island. In the middle of his indy career, Regnault met a Mets minor league pitching coach on a golf course in Florida, and through a little luck and a lot of persistence, earned himself an opportunity to sign with the club as a free agent.

Now, he’s in the Arizona Fall League after spending 2017 split between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas, and Kyle Regnault looks good coming out of the bullpen with a deep arsenal (fastball, curveball, slider, changeup) and a strong command profile. Here, you can watch him throw some in an October 20th relief outing he made for Scottsdale at home against Peoria in AFL action:

In that outing, Kyle Regnault flashed an 89-94 mph fastball, and paired it with an 82-86 mph slider (10-to-4), a 73-76 mph overhand curveball (12-to-6), and an 80-83 mph changeup with some tumble but very little arm-side run. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen the New York Mets lefty this year; you can read our full scouting report on Regnault from Las Vegas right here. He’s got some pitchability out of the bullpen and will match up well against lefties in the big leagues in a short-stint specialist role.

Regnault’s remarkable tale is one thing — and I’ll make it a point to interview him out at the AFL later this month or in early November — but he’s a strike-throwing lefty with four average big league offerings, and that’s attractive in a bullpen left-hander. I expect him to fight for a big league bullpen role with the New York Mets in spring training 2018, and at some point during the summer, I figure he’ll get a look in The Show. Yes, he’s already in (or somewhat past) his prime, but if the Mets keep Kyle Regnault in a highly specialized bullpen role, there may be considerable big league value yet to be pulled out of him beyond just an inspiring career story of perseverance.

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