Jan. 22, 2026, 6:25 p.m. ET

Former Florida right-handed pitcher Brandon Sproat is on the move as part of a blockbuster trade between the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Mets, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

Sproat — No. 81 on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect list released Wednesday — and infielder Jett Williams now rank No. 6 and No. 3 in the Brewers’ farm system, respectively. The top-prospect tandem is being exchanged for 29-year-old right-hander Freddy Peralta, who was named an All-Star and led the National League in wins with 17 in 2025.

Fangraphs gives Sproat a future-value grade of 50 on the 20-80 scale, pegging him as a mid-rotation starter who is near-ready for the big leagues. A second-round pick in 2023, Sproat quickly climbed the minor leagues, posting a 3.40 ERA and 131 strikeouts over 116.1 innings in 2024. He ended his first full pro season at Triple-A and entered 2025 as one of the top pitching prospects in the game.

A new delivery led to fewer strikeouts last season, though, and his stock began to diminish. Still, an upper-90s fastball and a plus slider kept him atop most prospect lists. The second half of 2025 went a lot better for him, warranting a call-up to New York in August.

Sproat made four starts for the Mets, throwing six shutout innings and a walk against the Texas Rangers. He didn’t allow a home run over 21 innings, but command issues proved he still had work to do. Establishing his changeup a bit more and refining his command across a six-pitch arsenal are the keys to a successful and long major-league career.

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Sproat came to Florida as a member of the class of 2019, ranked No. 149 overall and No. 53 among right-handed pitchers nationally by Perfect Game. With three Florida commits signing out of high school in that class and Sproat being drafted at No. 205 overall, getting him on campus was a win in its own right.

He only threw six innings over four games as a freshman during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, but he retained all four years of his eligibility thanks to an extra season granted as a result of the pandemic. Sproat was effective in relief over 16 appearances (two starts) in 2021, finishing with a 2-1 record anda 6.65 ERA over 21.2 innings.

However, Sproat’s sophomore year is where he made a name for himself. Hunter Barco went down early in the year with Tommy John surgery, allowing Sproat to step into the ace role for the Gators. He led the team with 16 starts, winning nine games and hurling 89.2 innings. He finished the season with a 3.41 ERA and 82 strikeouts, while opposing teams batted just .251 against him.

Sproat was picked in the third round of the draft by New York, but he opted to return to Florida for his junior year, hoping to earn a first-round nod. He made 19 starts, earning ABCA First Team Southeast All-Region and Second Team All-SEC honors, while working an 8-3 record with a 4.66 ERA. He struck out 134 batters over 106.1 innings and left the program ranked 10th all-time with a 9.74 K/9.

It wasn’t enough to get him into the first round, but Sproat made himself some money by staying at Florida one more year. New York drafted him again, this time a round earlier at No. 56 overall.

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