By Kevin Deutsch and Matt Rothman
When Mets rookie Christian Scott takes the mound at LoanDepot Park Sunday, the Coconut Creek resident will pitch in front of adoring family members and friends rooting for their hometown hero.
The Parkland-born Scott dazzled in Triple-A before the New York Mets called up their top pitching prospect for a May 4 start against the Rays in St. Petersburg. The 6-foot-4, 25-year-old right-hander struck out six batters over 6.2 innings in his debut and has shown elite stuff at times in eight career starts.
Scott, considered a major piece of the Mets’ future rotation, could notch his first MLB win against the Marlins on Sunday in front of his biggest fans.
His mother and grandparents still live near him in Coconut Creek, he said.
“It is a little bit different [pitching in Miami]; I’ve got a lot of family and friends coming. I’ll get text messages for about a week in advance, getting tickets lined up,” Scott told Coconut Creek Talk in an interview Friday. “It’s cool to have family and friends in town and for them to be able to travel a short way to come be here. They sacrificed a lot for me to be in this position, so I’m super grateful to be able to come out and give it all I’ve got for them.”
“We’ve got a base in Coconut Creek,” Scott added. “I grew up there, was able to really train there, and just love the area.”
Scott said he lived in Parkland until he was about 12 years old when his family moved to Coconut Creek. He played high school baseball at Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, recording an 11-0 record and 1.44 ERA in his final season with the Eagles.
The rookie hurler played for the Original Florida Pokers before going on to pitch as a reliever at the University of Florida in 2019. In three seasons with the Gators, Scott posted a 12-5 record with three saves and a 3.72 ERA.
He was selected in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Mets, who saw something special in the righty. The organization moved him back into a starting role and watched him blossom using a repertoire of four-seam fastballs, sliders, and splitters to dominate hitters.
Scott moved quickly through the Mets farm system and won Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors in 2023.
He said growing up in Coconut Creek and Parkland helped fuel his passion for baseball.
“South Florida is as a baseball haven,” said Scott. “I played with a bunch of guys who are in the major leagues right now,” including Marjory Stoneman Douglas’s Jesús Luzardo, who pitches for the Marlins, and Mets slugger Mark Vientos, who hails from Pembroke Pines and spent three years attending Charles W. Flanagan High School.
Scott said he and the group of other South Florida high schoolers who have become MLB pros continue to support one another.
“We’re able to feed off of each other where we’re able to if we’re having a good day or a bad day,” Scott said. “Somebody that you’ve grown up around and has been there, done that, to be able to get that information [from them] is awesome.”
Scott said he’s exceedingly grateful for the opportunities he’s gotten in baseball “and just super blessed to be able to show off for my hometown and people who grew up watching me play.”
“I wouldn’t be here without the support from my friends and family and the community,” he said. “Being able to go out there and have people come and be in the stands to watch me play, it’s just really all a credit to everybody else around me to be able to give me this opportunity. I’m just trying to take full advantage of it.”
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