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3/9/24

Tom Brennan - What Would It Look Like If You Built a 2026 MLB Team Out of Current Mets Prospects?

HOW GOOD IS OUR MINORS SYSTEM, REALLY?

Being successful in the majors as a team is no joke. 

Competition? Intense.

Just consider how many seasons in their 62 years that the Mets finished below .500.

I did a quick count…33 times. And several more right around .500. 

Anyway, what if someone told you that out of only the current Mets prospects, you had to build an entire MLB team for 2026. No current major leaguers. 

What might it look like?

Remember, I am grading against real major league opposition. Matt Olson, for instance, hit 54 HRs last year. He's first baseman # 1.  The median first baseman of the 20 that had qualifying at bats in 2023 in MLB had output of 22 HRs and 74 RBIs in 150 games.  So, reaching even MLB standard is a high bar. If you were a starting 1B, and hit 12 HRs and drove in 60, you are in the bottom 20% of qualifiers.

And Ronald Acuna Jr. is far better than any Mets player on the list below, because he is truly an elite, potential first ballot Hall of Fame caliber, MLB outfielder.  Being even an average MLB starting outfielder is not an easy task, much less reaching the level of elite.

To win 95 games, your players simply need to collectively be above average.

OK - enough theorizing and ‘splaining - let's roll here.

C - Kevin Parada and Ronald Hernandez - in 2026, below major league average. 

A lot can happen in two years (2024 and 2025) to improve these two, but Hernandez is very young, and could by opening day have the skills of a MLB catcher. Parada could be strong offensively, or so-so, and his arm is not “Johnny Bench”. By 2027, this duo could be average. Of course, by 2027, heralded Yovanny Rodriguez arrives and takes over the starting catching (remember, no Francisco Alvarez exists in this exercise) and likely would take the Mets' 2027 catching to average or higher.

1B - Young Ryan Clifford needs tons of at bats the next two years to be a 25-30 HR, .240 hitting 1B in the majors. Even then, I would only rate him average, with future growth potential.  If he is not ready, due to Ks, for instance, JT Schwartz would man first base and likely do a decent, but below median, starting 1B's job output-wise due to below average 1B power.

2B - Luisangel Acuna will probably be below MLB 2B offense in hits, power, walks, but well above average in steals and defense.  Average overall by 2026.

SS - Jett Williams…close to, or at, All Star caliber by the 2026 season. VERY tough to be an All Star at SS.  But he'd want to be one.

3B - Ronny Mauricio - major league average, if he heals up fully and his fielding improves. 

If you do not want him in this group, since he already has had a few games at the MLB level, Jacob Reimer will be ready for a decent MLB rookie season.  But likely below average for starting MLB 3rd basemen that year, moving to average in 2027, when he'll still be 23.

At some point during 2026, Colin Houck ought to be MLB ready. If so, he will push his way into the line up, and one of the above IFs will get shuffled. That quick of an arrival for Houck, you say? Yes. Here’s why. 

Prior to a few years back, rookie leagues played 60-70 games. Now it’s around 130. You play more, you progress faster.  So, if he stays healthy, he gets into 250 games in 2024 and 2025. And you can likely add in one off-season of AFL ball, too.

Utility infield: 

Five names. If Jeremiah Johnson reduces his Ks and his other tools make him a decent utility infielder. High Ks remain?  Then he doesn't fit the picture. Marco Vargas, Wilfredo Lara, Jeremy Rodriguez as other utility infielders, whichever progresses fastest. Let's not overlook Wilfredo Lara, a teenager in St Lucie in 2023 where he has hit well, with power, good speed and fine fielding.  In 2 years, he might be completely ready.

Outfield:

CF: Drew Gilbert in two years is above average MLB.  

RF: Speedy Alex Ramirez progresses and is by 2026 a decent overall MLB OF, but probably somewhat below MLB average. 

LF: One of the utility infielders above slides over as the 3rd outfielder. Nick Morabito and Rhylan Thomas as fast, high average, fine fielding 4th and 5th outfielders.   Both need more power to elevate their game. Maybe one of those 2 even starts. Overall, a decent, but likely below-average MLB average outfield in 2026. Remember, another team can roll out a Ronald Acuna.

Starting Pitching:

Christian Scott, Mike Vasil, Dom Hamel, Blade Tidwell, Tyler Stuart, and Brandon Sproat will all be pitching in the majors by or before 2026.  Potentially, an average MLB rotation.  If all goes right, better than average. 

Bullpen:

Nolan McLean and Cal Ziegler bring the bullpen heat.  Nate Lavender will be a tough, above average, lefty pen arm. By then, Saul Garcia will morph into an effective lefty reliever, too. Paul Gervase, the strikeout machine 6’10” reliever, will be coming to a relief mound near you with a fistful of Ks. Joander Suarez will be a surprisingly solid pen arm. Raimon Gomez a back-of-the-pen fireballer, perhaps.  Others will emerge for the pen, like Kade Morris, if he does not push his way into the Mets' starter mix.  Me?  That pen feels to be MLB average - or better.

OVERALL?

I think this team would have 65-75 win potential in 2026, 75-85 win potential in 2027.  And boy, would the team salary be low.

Of course, MLB just ranked the Mets system 13th, and I am guessing they too see lots of good quality, but no top 40 overall pitchers or hitters. Stars are the real difference makers, one can easily conclude.

What do you see, folks?



19 comments:

  1. I would add Wilkin Ramos and Daniel Juarez to pen too. Lots of options.

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  2. I love this but looking this far forward gets one in trouble.

    Do this two years ago and we'd be reading about the Baby Mets and a few duds whose names will remain anonymous

    (there's that anonymous word again...)

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  3. Mack, one difference….Baty, Vientos, and Mauricio were all well below solid fielders. and still are. It was hit, or disaster.

    After them, who besides Alvarez was there?

    Acuna? If he doesn’t hit much, he will steal and provide GG defense. If Jett hits .240, his OBP will be .370 or more, and he’ll steal. Gilbert has an all-around game, so if his hitting struggles a bit, he is a fine, speedy fielder. Etc.

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  4. Wyatt Young great first full year, significant regression, second full year and crowd of quality infield prospects is greatly increased, so unless he strongly reverses 2023 he’s in trouble. Having said that, I once again go back to the logic that there should be 15 players that are offensive on the roster. That would open up 64 major league jobs and guys like him might actually have a chance to get to the major leaks.

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  5. Good analysis, Tom, but I don't get the point. As things stand now, presuming no serious injuries an reaching with Pete, very few spots will be open in '26. If Pete, Alvy, Nimmo, Lindor and McNeil are healthy, only 3B and 2 OF spots will be available (unless Soto is signed in November).

    I love looking at the top prospects and guessing which will become productive MLers, but projecting an entire roster of them is like planning a future after winning Powerball.

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. A few thoughts:
    Clifford has a great arm, so I would keep him as a left fielder and put another player at 1B. Too, there are other players to consider, such as Ritter and Senger.

    This is why bombing with a group like Vientos/Baty/Mauricio sucks so much. First, the Mauricio injury was not quite Edwin Diaz devastating, but similarly crucial to the timeline and evaluation of these kids. Baty or Vientos must graduate with good grades to keep this batch of prospects from being a complete failure for the farm system. What I don’t see much in the Mets farm system is more players like Mauricio, who can run and have good power. They may flame out, but I would have liked a few more. To me, the international signing opportunity is more important to hit on than the draft. In the draft, you have to wait to see who falls to you. In the international market, you can pick whatever players you prefer. I’m tired of seeing shortstops and catchers. Enough already. Aren’t there outfielders and pitchers out there? And who identified Simon Juan as a top player and have him fizzle out IMMEDIATELY? Where were their eyes up until that time and this kid couldn’t even get out of DSL?

    Who is the Horowitz in charge of development and scouting? Don’t tell me Jay’s son….

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    Replies
    1. Best outfield arms slot into RIGHT

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    2. Yes, I agree. But, due to his lack of mobility, I don’t want to see doubles turning into triples. Thus: LF. Home plate is just as far from left field as it is from right field.

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  8. We were having the same type of discussion yesterday. The difference is we included those players that are currently signed through OD 2026 and assume opt outs were exercised. We assumed that on OD 2026, Lindor, Nimmo and McNeil are the only current players left.

    We had:

    Catcher = Alverez
    First = Cliffard
    Second = Acuña
    Short = Lindor
    Third = Mauricio
    Left = Nimmo
    Center = Jett
    Right = Gilbert
    DH = Vientos

    Bench = Parada, Vargas, Morabito and Ramirez

    Pitching = we were the same
    sp1 = Scott
    SP2 = Tidwell
    SP3 = Sprout
    SP4 = Vasil
    SP5 = Hamel
    SP6 = Stuart

    We did not get to the bullpen.

    Conclusions we came to:

    I guess we are higher on Spout and Tidwell. We saw that with the new pitching lab, these 6 can become a top third staff. We saw Peterson, Megill and Butto as potential trade pieces.

    We felt that the following could provide 25+ homers each - Lindor, Vientos, Clifford, Gilbert and Mauricio. Not a murders' row but sufficient.

    Jett and Nimmo will give you OBP at the top of the order. Batting Acuna nineth, will provide some interesting basepath running.

    We concluded that the team would be a play-off team. World Series? Maybe not so. But two years to go to find those missing players.

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  9. Simon Juan was only promoted to the Mets yesterday as a spring training fill in due to the prospects going to train for the Prospect Games

    That's all

    This is how things are done

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  10. Jay Horrow Witz is only in charge of the temperature setting on his preparation of his morning oatmeal

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  11. My prior comment I started at a light. Light changed, and tapped on mic. That’s how major leagues became major leaks.

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  12. All projections for prospects 3 or more years away is blowing smoke up..

    You know where I'm going here

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  13. Steve, love your analysis.i just attempted to show that, IMO, you could make a case that you could build an entire viable new team out of our minors.

    Theoretically, of course, since reality usually provides many speed bumps.

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  14. RDS900 - My oversight. Alverez for 25+ homers as well

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  15. Tom - Thank you. I guess the real point of this exercise is the basis of your article. How good are the prospects and where do we need to strengthen?

    In two years, many things can and will happen. What if they decide to sign (fill in the blank)? Agree, could be blowing smoke up. But isn't this what we do in the off-season as fans of the game?

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