PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — New York Mets reliever Max Kranick recently told his agent that he felt confident he could consistently compete in the major leagues at just two points over his career since debuting four years ago.
The 27-year-old recalled the first instance, in May 2022, when he threw five scoreless innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates before needing Tommy John surgery.
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The other time?
“I’d say right now,” Kranick said Saturday, one day after throwing another scoreless outing.
Kranick continued to impress club officials Friday night as an under-the-radar standout this spring. In his bid for a final Opening Day roster spot, Kranick hit 97.7 mph, the hardest he has thrown in spring training. Other numbers so far appear just as eye-opening: seven innings, four hits, eight strikeouts, no walks, no runs.
Kranick holds a minor-league option, which works against his candidacy for the Opening Day roster. Whether he breaks camp with the major-league team or doesn’t, club officials say his stuff is real. They like that he can throw multiple innings out of the bullpen. They believe he can help.
“He’s been pretty good,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Saturday. “Yesterday was another good outing. He continues to attack the strike zone. The velo is there. His slider is there. And he’s on the attack. He’s putting himself in a really good position here.”
A pair of strikeouts for Max Kranick to end the third and he’s pumped pic.twitter.com/vi2eph1PpX
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 8, 2025
Kranick’s emergence dates back to last August, when he said he started to feel good about his stuff again.
But getting there required more than just time.
If receiving the news that he needed Tommy John surgery in 2022 registers as the low point of Kranick’s career, then getting outrighted off the Mets’ 40-man roster last May is a close second.
At that point, Kranick had returned from the injured list (hamstring) and posted a 2.57 ERA in two starts and seven innings for Triple-A Syracuse. The surface numbers were fine. But a deeper look revealed a need for improvement.
“It was a big punch in the face and a big ego-check for me,” Kranick said. “I wasn’t very good at the time. I just had to work through a lot of things. Physically, wasn’t great. Mentally, it was a disaster.”
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From there, Kranick needed a few weeks before completely buying into making changes.
“I just had to look in the mirror,” Kranick said, “and say, ‘Look, you’re just not that good right now, and it’s time to get back to work.’”
Kranick built a relationship with Mets assistant pitching coordinator Grayson Crawford, who worked as Syracuse’s pitching coach last year. Crawford worked with Kranick on throwing a sweeper and adding velocity to his fastball using specific plyometric drills to speed up his arm.
Per Kranick’s recollection, Crawford told him around last June, “In four to six weeks, we’ll look up, and if the numbers aren’t where you want, we will pivot back and adjust. But I think you’re going to like where you’re at.”
Kranick said, “I really put all my trust in him. Amazing human being who really knows what he’s doing on the pitching side.”
With each month that passed, Kranick’s fastball velocity steadily increased by 1 mph or so.
From Aug. 1, Kranick averaged over 96 mph in Syracuse and sometimes hit 98 mph. Previously, his fastball resided in the low-to-mid 90s. Now, he eyes hitting 100 mph — something he has never done before (his hardest is 99.7 mph, which he did twice in 2021 and once in 2022).
Last year, Kranick, who grew up in Pennsylvania as a Mets fan, ran out of time before he could help the major-league team. He was a surprise addition to the Mets’ Wild Card Series roster but did not pitch. He has not pitched in a major-league game since 2022.
Perhaps it’s just a matter of time before that changes, considering how Kranick feels these days.
“I’m confident in my stuff,” Kranick said.
(Photo: Reinhold Matay / Imagn Images)
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