Jonathan Pintaro is coming into the 2026 season with a chance to make the Opening Day roster for the New York Mets. Pintaro went from being an undrafted free agent throwing in independent leagues to making his big league debut in just over a year. He has the raw talent and elite strikeout stuff that the front office loves. But heading into the 2026 season, the question with Pintaro is whether he can turn that potential into consistent outs.
A Look Back at 2025
Pintaro spent the first half of 2025 dominating hitters in Double-A Binghamton. Through 42.1 innings, he posted a 3.40 ERA, striking out a massive 12.12 batters per nine innings. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was solid, as he looked completely unhittable at times. When the big league bullpen began to fall apart in late June, the front office had him skip right over Triple-A and called him up to the majors. It was a desperation move hoping to stop the bleeding, but that decision put a ton of pressure on a guy who was still developing.
He made his MLB debut on June 25th vs the Braves, and it was rough. He ended with a 27.00 ERA after allowing two runs and two walks while only getting two outs. The team then sent him down to Triple-A Syracuse immediately after, where he spent the rest of the year and faced some growing pains.
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Through 39.2 innings in Triple-A, his ERA jumped to 5.22, and his walk rate spiked to 6.58 batters per nine innings. But the underlying stuff remained genuinely elite. His Baseball Savant page shows he leaned heavily on his 91.7 mph cutter, backing it up with a 96.7 mph four-seamer and an 87.4 mph changeup. Even with his control issues, he was still able to finish his entire minor league season with 103 strikeouts and a 4.17 FIP over 82.0 innings.
What the Computers Say for 2026
The projections are surprisingly optimistic about Pintaro this year, as both ZiPS and Steamer see him becoming a legitimate arm in the majors. Steamer projects him for 33.0 innings with a 3.84 ERA and 8.57 strikeouts per nine innings. Meanwhile, ZiPS is even higher on his volume, projecting him to pitch in over 74 innings, posting a 4.10 ERA with 71 strikeouts and an expected FIP of 4.11.
While those numbers may not look like a top arm in the bullpen, they show a highly capable and reliable middle reliever. If Pintaro is able to give the Mets an ERA around 4.00 while striking out nearly a batter an inning, they can absolutely find a spot for him in this bullpen.
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Bullpen Fit in Queens
So where does he actually fit with the 2026 Mets? Pintaro is an east-west pitcher with a low three-quarters arm slot. He does best against right-handed hitters by running his sharp cutter away from them. However, he does struggle against lefties, which means Carlos Mendoza will need to pick his spots carefully to maximize his value.
He would be a perfect arm to slot in for the sixth or seventh inning, especially if one of the starters is unable to go past 5 innings, like many of them struggled to do in 2025. But the Mets bullpen will always need dynamic arms who can miss bats, and Pintaro provides a different look compared to the rest of the relief options.
The deciding factor for Pintaro this year will simply be his command. We know he has the high-90s velocity, and his cutter is clearly a legitimate big league weapon. But if he continues to walk more than four batters per nine innings like he did in Syracuse, then he will likely struggle to stick on the active roster. If he can throw strikes consistently, then he has the potential to be a massive organizational win for the Mets. Fans should genuinely be excited to watch him in Spring Training because he has all of the raw tools to be a breakout piece in the bullpen this summer.