Reese Kaplan -- What Mets Fans Will Unwrap in the Near Future

Baseball Prospectus just released their new list of the Mets' Top Ten Prospects, many of whom were not there as recently as this time in 2022.  Those mid year trades surely loaded up the top of farm system future, though all is not a guarantee to success.  Fully half of this list is the result of payroll clearing done by former GM Billy Eppler last season in July.

1. Vaulting all the way to number one is tiny, speedy and surprisingly home run capable Jett Williams.  Obviously the name alone deserves to be on a big league diamond, but after starting off as a shortstop where he would have been blocked by Francisco Lindor, he shifted many of his games to center field where the club most definitely has more of a need.  When you look at the 20 year old's output you are immediately struck by the stolen bases.  Between three leagues in 2023 he totaled 45 base thefts in just over 400 ABs.  The next number that catches your eye is the 104 walks.  Obviously pitchers have a tougher time finding the strike zone on a 5'6" hitter, but he's obviously got a good eye as well.  Despite his size, he still managed to hit 13 home runs.  Imagine having him leading off and patrolling center field at Citifield perhaps as soon as 2025.
2. Now we start on the first of the acquisitions.  Drew Gilbert is another diminutive player who has spent time at all three outfield positions.  The 23 year old got as high as AA this past season where he hit .289 with 18 HRs and a dozen stolen bases.  He likely will increase to the 20 HR level as he matures more and could find himself as a replacement for Starling Marte when his contract ends.  
3. Also arriving at the trade deadline was Luisangel Acuna.  His brother, superstar Ronald Acuna, Jr., has already secured a Rookie of the Year, multiple All Star appearances, a Silver Slugger and an MVP.  The Mets can only hope that his DNA is in Luisangel as well.  In 2023 the younger Acuna made it to AA and hit .294 with 57 stolen bases as well as 9 long balls.  He's another in the small size set the Mets have at the top three standing at just 5'8".  He struggled a bit in Binghamton after arriving, so he may start the season there and move up to Syracuse once he proves mastery of the AA level.  
4. Also arriving in July was the first big man, 6'3" and 200 pound corner outfielder and first baseman, Ryan Clifford.  This lefty swinger is just 19 years old and combined on three teams last year to hit .262 with 24 HRs and 81 RBIs in around 400 ABs.  He's showing some major run production talent at a very young age.  This year he's likely to advance to Binghamton to start the season as he's showing some serious capability and they probably want to see how he responds to more polished pitching than he's faced in the Rookie, A and A+ levels.
5. Even bigger at 6'4" and 215 pounds is right handed pitcher Christian Scott who soared up the prospect list this past season.  How good was he?  Well, after being promoted to Binghamton the 24 year old pitched to a 4-3 record over a dozen starts with a 2.47 ERA.  He struck out 77 batters in 62 innings pitched while walking just 8.  He may start the year again in AA but expect a quick promotion to Syracuse given his age vs. the competition.  The Mets will want to see if he's for real against better hitters.  Any way you slice it, you can't over emphasize the better than 8:1 strikeout to walk ratio nor the unbelievable WHIP of just 0.839.  Hats off to the scouting department for selecting him in the 2021 draft.
6. As part of the David Robertson trade, the Mets received a pair of teenagers who were highly regarded.  One of them has already hit this top ten list and as a former resident of El Paso, TX  I have a soft place in my heart for anyone from the neighboring state of Chihuahua, Mexico which I could see easily from my office window as it was walking distance from downtown.  That is where Vargas is from and apparently the environment agreed with him.  Through four teams since joining professional baseball he has been pretty impressive.  His batting average is .296, he's stolen 27 bases and even managed to hit a handful of home runs.  As he matures and adds muscle he would likely produce more runs.  
7. Tommy Pham's short but productive tenure with the Mets netted them a high schooler whose future is rosy indeed.  Across three teams as a 16 year old has up 167 times.  That's roughly one third of a season's output what he did was incredible.  Extrapolate that over a full season and you would have a .291 average to go with 9 HRs, 99 RBIs and 57 stolen bases.  As an infielder those numbers are electric and now that he's a ripe old age of 17 the Mets hope he can proceed productively as he ascends the ladder towards Citifield.  
8. No one needs an introduction to former top of the heap prospect Ronny Mauricio.  His status has dropped a bit since then but 2024 was going to be his first full big league year until just recently he went down overseas with season ending surgery just like Edwin Diaz wound up missing all of 2023.  The only thing accomplished for the Mets was being given the opportunity to see if Brett Baty and Mark Vientos can produce at the highest level after having had done poorly in extended looks in 2023.
9. A little bit surprising on this list was 2023 draft pick Colin Houck who at the tender age of just 18 did not look like a first rounder.  In his brief trial in pro ball he hit just .241 with no home runs, 4 RBIs and no stolen bases.  He did get 7 walks to balance out his 29 swinging ABs, but you can't draw any definitive conclusions after someone with less than 2 weeks on his resume.  If he's as good as the Mets suspected when they chose him, then the output from the many other offensive minor league players must be decidedly worse.
10. Rounding out the top ten is another pitcher, Mike Vasil whose potential still exceeds his professional delivery.  He made it as high as Syracuse last season and has been playing in the Mets farm system since 2021 when he three seven innings for the Florida Complex League affiliate with a season ending ERA of 1.29.  He split the following year at age 22 across three teams and the ERA shot up to a still decent 3.53 combined.  Then came his work last season that included stops in Binghamton and Syracuse for a combined 26 starts.  The strikeout numbers are good with 138 in 124 innings, but it gets less impressive in other aspects of his metrics.  His walk numbers were a bit high in AAA as was his ERA that soared up to 5.35 over his 16 Syracuse starts.  He's likely returning there in 2024 to see if he can regain better command.

So there you have it -- ten gift wrapped youngsters to enjoy unwrapping at some point in the future when they're all ready to make their New York Mets major league debut.

From all of us here at Mack's Mets, enjoy your holidays!