About 40 minutes separates Palm Beach Gardens where Josh Walker is currently hard at work from the New York Mets' spring training home but for the former University of New Haven pitcher, at times it could feel like he is a world away from realizing his dream of playing in the major leagues.

The batters that Walker has faced are not the only obstacle he faced during the time when he went from 37th-round draft pick to arguably the top left-handed pitching prospect in the Mets' system.

There were the injuries suffered in a 2019 car accident, one caused by the driver of the other car, that limited Walker to six innings during the minor-league season. The 2020 minor-league baseball season never took place due to the global pandemic.

In a sport where late-round draft picks can be discarded within a year or two or being selected, Walker never lost the faith and never stopped working.

After a breakthrough 2021 season when he went 9-4 pitching at three different levels in the minor leagues, Walker has a chance to compete for a spot on the pitching staff of the 2022 New York Mets and perhaps even be a part of the starting rotation.

"Control what you can control was the mantra for both of those years," Walker said. "I continue to put in the work myself and not worry about all the noise and what was going on in the world with COVID and everything. It was just to stay focused and not let the emotions get to you. I was keeping in touch with the Mets and people from New Haven and people I played with, guys who were still playing and talking and encouraging each other not to lose sight of the mission we were on."

That mission seemed out of Walker's reach early in his collegiate career.

After a tough 2014 season at Division I South Florida, Walker transferred to New Haven. If he thought he was going to step onto the New Haven campus and set the world ablaze, he was soon to discover that it wasn't going to be that easy. He pitched just seven games during the 2016 season and had four more walks than strikeouts. It wasn't until he took a look at himself in the mirror and began to trust his stuff that Walker worked his way onto the radar of professional scouts.

"I think it was a mental switch for sure," said Walker, who went 3-1 with a 2.40 earned run average in 20 games for the Chargers in 2017. "I was kind of pitching timidly mostly because I was lost mechanically and didn't feel like I could control the baseball. I was trying to exert myself this way and that way just trying to put the ball where I wanted. When I wasn't having success, I would stress myself out both physically and mentally. I would want to strain to throw, try to force it to the spot and it kind of snowballed into affecting me mechanically and mentally. 

"Coming into 2017, I changed my mindset, I feel terrible throwing this way and not having any fun which is one of the main parts about playing the sport is to have fun with it and enjoy it. It was teetering on the idea of not playing at one point, I wanted to call it a career because I just wasn't enjoying the game.

"I said [forget] this, this is not how I want to look back. I felt like I was going to go and attack each hitter and throw the ball hard, don't worry about throwing the ball and getting hit, I am just going on the attack."

Thanks to his coaches and teammates at New Haven, the joy returned and so did his dream of playing professional baseball.

It helped that Tom Walvaren, a friend of Walker's since his youth baseball days in Otisville, New York, not only was a member of the team but was the one who suggested he head to New Haven when things didn't work out at USF.

"They recruited me out of high school so I knew of the program, the coaching staff knew me and they had a little interest," Walker said. "Tom was kind of the bridge there when I transferred. He was a big reason why I got to New Haven. The culture there with the coaching staff and the team, they were more like a family, we are all going to go out to accomplish our goal and we are all going to work together, encourage each other and be close not just on the field but off the field. That kind of environment really helped me shake a lot of my own doubt just immerse myself in the camaraderie of the guys and just learn to have fun with it and not be so critical of myself of every little thing. Being around those people who just want to play and fight, fight for the wins and have fun while we are doing it, have each other's back, that was the encouragement I needed to advance my career."

Anybody who has spent time around a minor league team has heard heartwarming stories of a prospect being informed by his manager or another coach that he was being promoted. Walker had the opportunity for that to happen twice in 2021.

Walker started the season with Brooklyn and after going 3-0 with a 2.57 earned run average with 23 strikeouts and four walks in 21 innings. He was moved up to AA with Binghamton of the Eastern League. He got into eight games with seven starts and posted a 5-1 record with a 2.64 ERA. The 6-foot-6 Walker struck out 42 and walked seven in 44 1/3 innings. His performance got him moved up to the Mets' top minor-league team in Syracuse.

Walker flirted with a no-hitter in his second AAA start before giving up a single with one out in the eighth inning. In his next start, Walker gave up a double to the first batter and didn't allow another hit in seven innings of work. 

There is nothing quite like taking the mound whether it is at Class A, AA or AAA and giving your team a chance to win. However, the emotions when a prospect finds out he is moving up a level are something to behold.

"I knew I had been doing well and I was hoping for it," Walker said. "You want to keep going to the next level and to the next level. I knew I had time that I had to make up for so when I got called into the office both of those times, it was kind of like an energetic feeling, almost like my body was buzzing kind of like knowing what the news was getting called in for. It is hard to describe. It was like pure joy and satisfaction that the work has been paying off and just being grateful that I was there in that moment and still playing. 

"I was taking it in, going into the office thanking the coaches and just getting this energized feeling. You feel like you are on cloud nine at that moment, you bring yourself back to earth that, 'all right let's continue to stay in the same mindset and not let it get too big in your own head.' I tried to enjoy the moments for a brief time and get into the right frame of mind."

Walker is quick to credit family and friends for keeping him positive during some tough days in his professional baseball odyssey. The people he met while at New Haven are among his biggest supporters.

"It is unbelievable," New Haven baseball coach Chris Celano said. "You hope they get there, make the adjustments and play as long as they can but following him going through A ball, having an injury and him not pitching for a year, there is always that question when he comes back will he be OK, are they going to give him enough time? Will he establish himself and in one short year essentially he went to all three levels and is knocking on the door. It is unbelievable to watch especially as a guy you coached, it is almost indescribable."

Celano believes the summer between his sophomore and junior seasons with the Chargers played a role in the success he had in 2017. Walker was 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 13 games during the regular season with the Montauk Mustangs in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League.

Celano saw a much more confident Walker when he returned to campus. It started a process that has Walker among the top 20 prospects in the Mets' system.

"He had a fantastic summer and ran with that right through into the following fall. I could tell right away that it clicked, his velocity went through the roof, his secondary pitches became much more consistent and his fastball command was outstanding and that is when I said he is going to get a chance."

There was a time early in that 2017 season when Celano and assistant coach Tom Rispoli looked at each other and knew they had the same thoughts running through their minds.

"We were in the dugout, he threw one inning and it was early in the year," Rispoli said. "I looked at Chris and said, 'this guy is going to be a big leaguer.' He said, 'you think so too.' He made a jump and that [stuff] is going to be untouchable, he would have a legitimate chance. He got some looks because he is a 6-7 lefty and his body type is the best you get but he had a lot of success out of the bullpen. We weren't sure he was going to get a chance, they were kind of looking at him. He went and did some pre-draft workout and the guy from the Mets really vouched for him and really loved him."

What's next for Walker remains to be seen. There is a little thing like the collective bargaining stalemate that could impact the starting date of the MLB season. Walker is heading to St. Lucie later this month and will look to take the next step in his quest to make it to the majors.

That is precisely why he is spending time at Cressey Sports Performance as he looks to get in the best shape possible. He is also looking to add a couple of miles per hour to his fastball.

"One of the big points of emphasis I had in this offseason was kind of to gain some velocity," Walker said. "I think I worked on my control and command in the zone in the past where I had issues with that. I sharpened that up last season and that was a big reason that allowed me to jump through the system. I always lived around the low 90s and couldn't really break that barrier even though I have tried different things mechanically, tried tinkering with stuff and I couldn't make a decent velo jump so that is why I invested some time to come down to Cressey and work with my trainer [former MLB pitcher Willie Fraser]. Between those two things, I am trying to figure out what I had to do mechanically to be able to move better and quicker. 

"I have thrown a couple of bullpens and live batting practices and usually in bullpens all last season, I would sit anywhere from 86-88 in the bullpen and come game time with the adrenaline going, I was usually at 90-92. So far, the bullpens I have been on, on the radar my bullpens have been 90-92 and the one live [simulated game] I threw was 92-94. I am hoping to be living somewhere from 93-95 for the season, that is where I would like to be and I think that is where I will be based on how things are going. It hasn't been trying to muscle the ball more or try to throw harder, it is about being looser and more fluid and working with my body instead of trying to force the ball in harder to the plate."

Walker started only one game in his two seasons at New Haven. In 50 minor-league games, he started 27 times and came out of the bullpen 23 times. So how are the Mets looking at Walker? 

"They haven't told me directly what the plan was, they kept me in a starter routine through COVID and in the last year," Walker said. "There is a lot of competition for a rotation spot at the big league level, I would love to start but I am willing to go to the bullpen if that is where they need me. Whatever is going to get me to the big league level and help them compete for a World Series, that is all I want."

The Mets rotation will be headlined by Jacob de Grom and Max Scherzer who have combined to win five Cy Young Awards. Walker will do everything in his power to learn from two of the top pitchers in Major League baseball.

"I think that will be monumental in terms of development, you talk about two of the best arms in the game," Walker said. "Those are guys that I have studied during my downtime extensively, studied their mechanics, listened to them talk, their interviews and articles, watching how they move, how they generate all their power and control. 

"Being on the same staff with them would be amazing, that is the best resource that you can have are guys who do it at such an elite level right there in the same dugout as you. If I could get to that point and be able to bend their ears a little bit and drink in whatever knowledge they have and learn from just watching them, that would be an absolute blessing so I am lucky to be in an organization with two guys like that."

However things turn out for Walker this season and in the future, he will have plenty of folks on the University of New Haven campus keeping up with his progress.

"I give him all the credit," Celano said. "I pointed him in the right direction but he put in all the work."

Now Walker is anxious to see where all that work takes him.