With the emergence of young hurlers like Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong, Mets fans would be forgiven if they forgot about young right-hander Christian Scott.

But Scott is nearing a return and has been working on a few new tricks.

In a phone interview with The Athletic's Will Sammon, the 26-year-old spoke about his rehab process and how he feels as he nears the end. The Florida product is set to pitch his final live bullpen session on Tuesday. It would be his fourth time facing live batters and his second go-around on a five-day schedule.

So far, Scott is doing well as he rehabs from the Tommy John surgery and internal brace procedure he had last year.

“It’s going really smoothly,” Scott said. “I haven’t really had any setbacks or had anything that’s really come up at all. I’ve looked back at the nine games I’ve pitched in the big leagues and I know what I’ve needed to work on to improve my game."

Scott was called up twice in 2024. His first stint with the Mets came in late May, where he made five starts and pitched to a 3.90 ERA. After heading back to Syracuse, the Mets called Scott up again in early July and it looked like the team was set to give him a shot to stay in the rotation. He made four starts and struggled, allowing 12 runs across 19.2 innings before he was placed on the IL with a UCL sprain, ending his season.

Scott finished with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP and went under the knife in September, and he's been rehabbing ever since.

But while Scott, as he puts it, found a good middle ground on working on his stuff and making sure he stays healthy, he's excited for the ways he's trying to improve.

According to Scott, he's tinkered with his changeup, a pitch he hopes can help him get left-handers out. Scott used a split-finger when he threw his changeup, but is now using a traditional grip.

In 2024, he threw the split 17 percent of the time to left-handers, but those batters produced a .333 average and a .942 OPS -- as opposed to a .167 average and .532 OPS against righties.

“The in-zone percentage just wasn’t good enough with the split-finger before I got hurt,” Scott said. “Just being able to have a pitch that’s in the zone a little bit more and also moves a little bit better, in theory, is going to help me get more outs against left-handed hitters."

Scott also acknowledged that he needs to pound the strike zone with his fastball and not get behind counts. He's been working to be more consistent in that department.

On the subject of his fastball, Scott told The Athletic that it is averaging 94 mph, which was his average velocity in 2024, but has flashed 96 mph during his bullpen sessions. How consistent he can get his fastball to 96 won't be determined until he gets into games, but said, "It's feeling great right now."

A promising update from Scott as the Mets look to brush away the failure of the 2025 season. A fast start was upended by inconsistent starting pitching and a bullpen that ran out of gas by the end of the season. Perhaps Scott will play a part in the 2026 Mets, whose starting rotation is in flux, when healthy.

Aside from the three young phenoms, the Mets have Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea and David Peterson that they can run out on any given day, but Scott could be a depth piece to help them get through the season, the same way that Tylor Megill and Paul Blackburn were in recent years.

But first and foremost, Scott looks to complete his rehab and be ready for spring training.

Then, it'll be up to the Mets to put the pieces of their rotation together and figure out how much Scott can contribute in 2026.

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