Quinton Fesq
New York Mets relief pitching prospect Ryan Lambert is turning heads at spring training this year, and it is not just because he throws a baseball over 100 mph. The 23-year-old right-hander might be the most eccentric player in Port St. Lucie right now. He is a guy who has completely rebuilt his career through sheer willpower and a very unusual approach to nutrition. We are talking about a guy who actually drank 30 raw eggs a day for an entire month to gain an edge.
Chugging Eggs and Eating Chicken Hearts
Two years ago, he was looking for ways to build muscle and recover faster after being cut from his college baseball team. According to a recent article by MLB.com‘s Anthony DiComo, Lambert watched an internet video about the benefits of raw eggs and decided to go all in. He consumed 30 raw eggs every single day for a month.
Lambert told DiComo that the first day was an adjustment, but he stuck with it because he likes adversity. He added, “I’m not a chicken. I like a little adversity and challenge. It kind of gets me going”. That right there tells you everything you need to know about his mindset. He is willing to do whatever it takes to throw harder and be better.
The extreme habits do not stop with the eggs. Lambert is still incredibly strict about what he eats and how he sleeps. He cooks steak and sweet potatoes most days, but he also mixes in some truly bizarre protein sources. DiComo noted that Lambert took fellow pitching prospect Jonah Tong to a Brazilian steakhouse last year and ordered a bowl of chicken hearts. He also polices the clubhouse dining room to check what his teammates are eating.
Outfielder Nick Morabito told DiComo that Lambert even called him out for putting an extra creamer in his coffee. And to make sure his sleep is perfect, he wakes up at 8 a.m. every day and immediately steps into the sun to set his circadian rhythm. It is extreme, but you cannot argue with the results he is getting on the mound.
From Cut to Drafted
But here is the problem Lambert faced early on. Back in his sophomore year at Missouri State, he had absolutely no control over his pitches. He walked seven batters while only recording seven outs, and the coaching staff eventually cut him from the team. He packed up his car to drive home to Minnesota. On the way, he called some friends to film a bullpen session. He just started throwing as hard as he could, hitting 99 mph on the radar gun for a personal best.
He posted the video on Twitter, and it blew up with nearly 250,000 views. That viral clip caught the attention of the University of Oklahoma, where he pitched well enough for the Mets to draft him in the eighth round in 2024. He went from having no team to being a legitimate draft pick just because he bet on himself.
The Numbers Behind Ryan Lambert’s Heat
Now let us look at the actual numbers, because they are staggering. Lambert spent most of the 2025 season pitching for Double-A Binghamton and was absolutely dominant. Over 46 appearances, he posted a 1.62 ERA and racked up 81 strikeouts in just 50 innings of work. That translates to an absurd 14.6 strikeouts per nine innings.
To put that in perspective, that strikeout rate ranked fifth among the 1,383 minor league pitchers who threw at least 50 innings last year. He is not just throwing hard and hoping for the best anymore. He is missing bats at an elite level. The Mets currently rank him as their 20th-best prospect, but his ceiling as a high-leverage reliever might be much higher.
Here is why his stuff is so hard to hit. He is easily the hardest-throwing pitcher in Mets camp this spring. He topped out at 100.9 mph last season, and his goal for 2026 is to hit a clean 101 mph or higher. But it is not just raw speed. His fastball averages around 21 inches of induced vertical break. That means the pitch fights gravity and appears to rise as it gets to the plate, making it nearly impossible for hitters to square up.
When he pairs that rising fastball with his mid-80s slider, hitters just look lost. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza called him “electric” after a recent spring training outing. Mendoza told reporters, “If he throws strikes, man, he could be special”. If Lambert keeps throwing strikes and throwing heat, we will see him pitching big innings in Queens very soon.
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