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After just 25 2/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse this season because of a right arm flexor injury, he headed to the Surprise Saguaros to get some more experience before making a push for the Mets Major League bullpen in 2027. But because he struck out more (28), he also had improved control at minimum levels. department with that extra time.
More reps means more opportunities for practice, and the 24-year-old right-hander may have landed on something that could help him achieve all of his goals.
In live at-bats before the start of Fall League, Lambert began to include a low-80s breaking ball using the sweeper’s grip he used during his time at Northern Iowa Community College in 2022 and in the Northwoods League. It had greater glove movement (10-17 inches of horizontal break) than it did, but was more open than the 197’s. then mechanically. In order to get the right feel for the bigger breaker to be effective, he had to pull his glove tighter against his body and that became the trigger for his entire arsenal.
“My mechanics are more toward the plate,” Lambert said. “Honestly, I feel like my fastball is going to play better than that. Everything goes through the catcher.”
The 2024 eighth-rounder didn’t allow a hit and struck out 10 of the 22 batters he faced with six relief innings for the Surprise this fall (plus a perfect frame in the AFL Championship Game). He struck out four in that short sample, but even his 18.2 percent walk rate is trending in the right direction compared to his 23.2 regular-season mark (including rehab stints with Single-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn), enough to help Lambert earn a spot on the National League Fall All-Star list.
The need to find workable control for Lambert is real, as he clearly has Major League quality. The 6-foot-3 outfielder has an exceptional slider at 96-98 mph on the four-seamer that has made him difficult to touch at all levels of the Minor Leagues (helped by the fact that he sometimes touched triple digits in pro ball). AFL hitters hit 40.6 per cent of their swings against the heater. Jacob Misiorowski (40.2 percent) had the highest four-seamer strikeout rate (min. 400 four-seamers thrown) in the Majors this season.
It’s practically the highest pitched fastball with its combination of velocity and movement profile, but you also need to force the swing to produce smell. With Lambert’s ability to fly open and run high and often to the armpit, he needed something to get his attention to the opposite end of the zone. His other slider could have been effective — a 47.2 percent slugging rate and a .143 average against Syracuse in ’26 — with a stiffer action, but it only went so far as to make Lambert rethink his ability to throw strikes.
That changed with the sweeper. He threw 16 pitches, 10 for strikes; Four of those came with a whiff against six total swings thanks to changes in speed and direction.
“It’s a feeling pitch for me,” Lambert said. “It comes off my fastball really well.”
COMPLETELY MET THE SCOPE OF THE PROSPECTUS
The former Missouri State and Oklahoma standout will have more than mechanics and control numbers to focus on heading into 2027. He admitted he struggled to pitch despite arm pain this summer in pursuit of his first MLB chance, only to spend nine weeks on the injured list on two separate occasions.
“You never feel 100 percent as good as a pitcher,” he said. “So I thought I could just get over it and be fine, but it wasn’t one of those injuries. It’s a learning moment for me to know the difference between what’s manageable and what needs more attention.”
Lambert will go into his second straight offseason focusing on Queens, but after missing out in 2026, he hopes to have more control this time around.
“I’m going to take it a little bit cooler and not try to ramp it up as quickly,” he said. “I definitely learned a lot. I’m going to focus on getting in the zone, not so much on stuff and speed because I know I’ll have that during the season. I don’t have to worry too much about it in the offseason.”