Tom Brennan -TOP FIVE METS EXCITING PROSPECTS LIST

Everyone who's someone has a top 25 list, or a top 30 list, or a top 50 list, of their given favorite team’s prospects in the minor leagues. 

I, however, love excitement!  

Home Town Baseball should, first and foremost, be brimming with excitement.  Excited fans are ticket-buying fans.

So let's say, for instance, at this time last year, Andres Gimenez was ranked by some as the Mets’ #1 prospect and Pete Alonso #2.  

Let's say I accepted that ranking order (and I didn’t, I had Pete at #1).  

If there was a poll at the end of 2018 as to which of the two prospects you were more EXCITED ABOUT then, my guess is Pounding Pete gets 80% to 90% of that vote.  At a minimum.

The promise of ENORMOUS POWER was all it took for me. Then, in 2019, 53 homers later (57 if you count spring training, and of course, I do), that promise was more than fulfilled. 

Andy G, on the other hand, may do very well down the road, but generating actual excitement for the general fan base? He’ll have a tough job approaching the ballistic missile launcher, Pete Alonso, in that regard.

So, how about me ranking players in terms of how they excite me as I think about the future?  

Not too excited about that idea?  Well, get a life, I'll do it anyway.

Here’s my top 5 in terms of guys are most excited about in the system, in rank order. 

1) MATT ALLAN: 

Matt had an incredible story in terms of the Mets drafting him. Lots of people were shocked when he was drafted in the third round, and seemingly few thought that he would actually sign with our Metsies. 

But sign he did, and he performed quite well in Rookie level ball, and later in late season ball with Brooklyn. Now there’s a guy with huge ceiling. He even looks like a star pitcher.

For Allan, let’s dream big. Presumably, he starts his 2020 season off in Columbia, overpowers the hitters in the South Atlantic league, rips on down to the Florida State league with St. Lucie, destroys them too, and get a start or two in AA at the end of the season. Heck if he does that, maybe he shows up with the Mets in late 2021, as they are fighting to win the division title. 

Yes, I very much look forward to seeing what Matt Allan can do this year.

2) FRANCISCO ALVAREZ: 

This 17-year-old catcher was tremendously impressive in lower Rookie Ball in 2019. He showed an excellent power bat, and dog gone it, the dude just looks like a star catcher, doesn’t he? 

So why think small?  Think EXCITED!  Here’s hoping that Alvarez is the next Mike Piazza, and that being the case, him joining the Mets in 2022 as their starting catcher, and hopefully a future all star catcher, to boot, which has been missing for quite some time in Metsville.

3) BRETT BATY: 

Now there’s a bat that should really excite everyone soon. P.O.W.E.R is his middle name.

He started off, after being drafted in the first round by the Mets, with the rep of a huge power bat but not much speed. Sounds like Pete. Baty briefly hit like a house on fire in the Gulf Goast league, got promoted to Kingsport, struggled mightily for the first three or four games there, then righted the ship.

I think he has to be concerned about strikeouts a bit, and that may slow him down in terms of rushing up the system, but he’s quite young and there is mucho time, so I like to see him hitting 30 to 40 homers a season for the next two seasons in the minors, and perhaps being ready by the start or mid season of 2022. After all, we need to see who can hit the ball farther, Brett Baty or Pete Alonso.

4) RONNY MAURICIO: 

Ronny had a solid year at the tender age of 18 with Columbia last year, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing if he’s packed some beef onto his wiry frame and can start to show off a more lethal bat with more power in 2020. 

If he does, the tall young infielder could tear through the system and be with the Mets by mid 2021 or more likely sometime in 2022. But we’ll see if he can join Jeff McNeil and some of the other boys in the infield like Amed Rosario and Pete for the Mets by that time as an infield starter. Some major upside here. 

Will he beat Blasting Brett Baty to the bigs?  Well, he has a head start, so probably yes.

5) JOSH WOLF: 

The Mets did well with drafting the 6’3” righty Josh in the second round in 2019.  Just 8 innings in his 2019 debut, but 12 Ks is impressive. Obviously, he’s got a very high ceiling, as any picture drafted out of high school in the second round has to have a high ceiling. 

The Mets didn’t rush him up to Brooklyn as they did with Matt Allan In 2020, but I have a strong suspicion that will see quite a pitcher this year in Wolf.  He could tag team it with Allan as they hopefully take the minors by storm in 2020 as 19 year olds.

EXCITING RECAP:

By 2023, the idea of having Allan and Wolf in the Mets’ rotation, and an infield of Pete (1B), Mauricio (2B), Rosario (SS), and Baty (3B), with the veteran McNeil bumped to the outfield, sure seems exciting.  Perhaps EXHILARATING. 

I dunno about you, I'm excited thinking about these 5 hombres.  

What do you think?