When Christian Scott takes the mound at Citi Field for the first time on Saturday, he’ll be wearing No. 45.
He said he didn’t select the jersey number, but not only has Scott drawn comparisons to Zack Wheeler, who also wore the number with the Mets, but Scott played high school baseball with Pedro Martinez Jr. —the son of another former famous Met that donned 45.
It was back at Calvary Christian HS in Fort Lauderdale that Pedro Martinez spent time around the team and even tried to pass along his dominant changeup to Scott.
“He had huge hands and really flexible fingers,’’ Scott said Friday of the Hall of Famer. “I tried to throw the changeup he taught me and almost killed someone.”
Scott has been just fine without it.
He impressed during his MLB debut last Saturday at Tampa Bay, when the 24-year-old allowed just one run in 6 ²/₃ innings at Tropicana Field.
Scott’s next test will be pitching in front of a crowd that’s been waiting for him since he emerged as the organization’s top pitching prospect this season after being a fifth-round pick out of the University of Florida in 2021.
“I’m excited to pitch for them,’’ Scott said of the fans. “They’ve been great to me coming up. My dream ever since I got drafted here was to pitch in front of them. I’m going to go out there and give them everything I’ve got every time I go out there.”
It’s a feeling new teammate Luis Severino can relate to.
Severino came up in August 2015 after a stellar season in the minors.
Unlike Scott, Severino’s first outing came at home, in The Bronx, facing the Red Sox.
“The day before was overwhelming,” Severino recalled Friday. “I was in Manhattan and there were a lot of ‘Severino is pitch tomorrow’ signs. I saw my name everywhere, even on a cab.”
But the next day was different.
“When I got on the field and threw my first pitch, it was normal baseball,’’ Severino said. “I knew I deserved to be there and he knows he deserves to be here. He’s ready for this challenge.”
Scott will get the chance to prove himself Saturday and he recalled the way one of his favorite players growing up in Coconut Creek, Fla. performed on the mound.
“I liked Jose Fernandez,’’ Scott said of the former Marlins’ star, who died in a boat crash in 2016. “The way he competed and controlled the game; the atmosphere he created. The crowd would pack in when he pitched.”
Despite his connections to other elite right-handers, Scott said he’s not going to look to emulate any of them.
“Those are great pitchers, but I’m trying to be the best version of myself,’’ Scott said.