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8/25/24

Mack's Top 10 List/Tranactions

 

Observations –           

And lastly, here is my Top 10 list:  

1

  - 10. OF/1B Ryan Clifford – Here is your only true first base prospect in the chain… unless Corey Collins develops. Hit: 45, Power: 60, Run 40, Arm 55, Overall:55. If you see someone with a 60 power rating, you scoop him up and teach him everything else. His negative is his whiff rate. Average speed. Could play in corners but lack of quickness moves him to first. Still, huge upside for this quality bat that is slowly developing. Let’s see how he foes next season in Syracuse.

ETA - for sure, 2026


9  - OF Carson Benge – 

The Mets first round pick this year. Was a two-way player in college, but the Mets will exclusively playing outfield. Strong plate discipline. Great contact ability. Above average raw power. Needs to learn how to pull. Will play center, but long range plan is to move him to one of the corners. Scouts had him as a first round hitter. Solid defender. It’s nice to see him playing for St. Lucie now. That should insure he opens up next season in Brooklyn.

ETA - have a notion they will fast pace him for a mid-2026 arrival

 

8 - SS Jeremy Rodriquez – All projection here. Huge hitting potential. Held his own in the FCL league this year as an 18-year old. Swings hard. Mi. d to opposite field contact. 7.60 runner. Also can play a decent outfield. Above average plate discipline. + bat-to-ball skills. Developing arm. It’s too early to project when or where he plays (my guess is second) but this is another trade steal by Stearns.

ETA - 2029

 

7- C/2B/3B Elian Pena – didn’t expect to see this name, did ya? Pena is going to sign in January for a $5mil bonus to begin playing for the Mets in 2026. That would give him as ETA to hit Queens after 2030. He is the top rated IFA prospect for the 2026 class, something the Mets have not ever come close to reaching. Someone projected him to wind up on third but I wonder how accurate it is to project someone this young. We’ll see, or, more accurately, you’ll see.

ETA - sometime next decade

 

6 - OF Luisangel Acuna – Now comes the other Acuna. Swings like him too. Has raw power for someone 5’8”. Projected to hit in the .250/.270 range. Excellent speed both with a bat and in the field. Base running machine. 

The potential of him and Jett hitting 1-2 would bring nightmares to opponent catchers. Plays excellent defense at short, second and center. Probably projects best at second and the Mets could play him there next season while working on him as a future centerfielder.

ETA - next season 

 

5 - OF Drew Gilbert – Mets stole this guy in the Verlander deal. Packs quite the punch for someone that only stands 5’9”. Excellent hand-to-eye. Already producing 110+ exit velo. Pull hitter. Strong sense of strike zone. Excellent defensive speed. Can play all three positions. I have him joining the Mets next season and a definite starter in 2026.

ETA - all-star break next season

 

4 - OF Nick Morabito – Now, here is another outfielder that is going to really stir the soup out there. IMO, the most talented one is Morabito. He possesses explosive raw power and speed that will play in any of the three outfield positions. Hitting on all cylinders since he has turned pro. 

ETA - I’ve got him starting in a corner position come 2027.

 

3 - SP Brandon Sproat – I’ve really grown to love this guy. Don’t worry about what he does this season in the dreaded International League. FB hits 100. Needs to work on BB/9 ratio. Sproat is a strikeout machine that will fit in nicely, sometime next season. Maybe in April.

ETA - 2026

 

2 - SS Jett Williams – I don’t have too many Mets prospects in the “can’t miss” category, but Williams is one of them. He’s a hit machine that can play both middle infield positions and center. My guess is that he will wind up on second. May be the fastest member of the team (but don’t tell that to Luisangel Acuna). 

ETA - Most probably your future leadoff hitter in 2027

 

1 -  SP Christian Scott – we can’t forget that Scott is still considered a  prospect. IMO, he has the top pitching ceiling in the organization. He also didn’t let the International League get in his way. My guess is he will stay a member of the parent Mets going forward and you will never read his name here again, but, until that happens, he heads my list. ++ FB (97)/slider combo. 

ETA - next month




New York –  

 

            OF Ben Gamel acquired by Houston

                        2024 Mets – 23-AB, .217

 

            Syracuse –

 

            RP  Huascar Brazoban optioned to Syracuse

                        2024 Mets – 0-1, 6.30-ERA, 10-IP, 10-K, 7-BB

 

            RP Jeffrey Colon released

                        2024 AAA – 2-G, 22.50-ERA

 

            Binghamton –

 

            RP Trey McLaughlin transferred from AAA-Syracuse

                        2024 AAA – 1-IP, 0.00

 

            Brooklyn –

 

            RP Gregori Louis promoted from A-St. Lucie

                        2024 Lucy – 22-G, 1.37, 50-K, 46-IP

12 comments:

  1. I like Nick Morabito at # 4, but he has to add power this offesason. If he does, he could arrive Sept 2025?

    Acuna has gotten valuable experience this year, but # 6 feels a tad high.

    I think Clifford at # 10 is about right, but he to me is not an overall 55 rating. I hope he is more than a 45. He is a little too close to Kirk Nieuwenhuis for my comfort.

    I'd have Scott at 3, Sproat at 1, if for no other reason than Scott seems to be a health risk.

    Pena? He ain't signed nothing yet, but sure, why not at # 6?

    Jett and Gilbert (and Mauricio, whom I would have squeezed into my top 10) all get INC ratings. I don't know enough about Benge yet to know if he should be above Gilbert. Long-term, my suspicion os yes, just because Benge is 4 inches taller than the 5'9" Gilbert.

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  2. I also wonder how much better Morabito would be hitting than he is in Brooklyn, if he was playing in a hitters' park, and in a situation where the rest of his teammates are hitting a collective .200 or thereabouts and provide him no real protection. Tough to be the only hitter in the line up. Reimer has not played long enough this year due to his 4 month injury to have provided any real protection.

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  3. Mack,
    Excellent list. Yes, Pena was a surprise, but good to see both Pena and Benge getting some recognition. It will be great to watch both players come up through the Mets minors.

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  4. Two more SB for Morabito last night. I wonder how many open bases the kid hasn’t swiped this season. And his Ba continues to rise as he’s gotten comfortable in Brooklyn. I’m not sold yet on Acuña, but the prospect of Morabito and Jett maybe hitting 9-1 in a couple of years could be very exciting. As to Peña, $5 mil is pretty close to their entire IFA budget, no? They must really like him. Let’s hope that nothing goes sideways in that relationship between now and January. Fingers crossed.

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  5. Call me a fogey or whatever derisive nickname you choose, but I miss small ball with base running and high contact rates. I'm really tired of the all-or-nothing swings for the fences from guys who don't know what to do when all that's needed is a single.

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  6. These are the guys we have been excited about - really looking forward to them accelerating into the big leagues!

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  7. I'm with you Reese. But, then again I'm really old.

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  8. Wasn't Fernando Martinez top of his IFA class?

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    Replies
    1. Fernando had some injury problems with his legs if I remember correctly. A good prospect who could never overcome those problems.
      I agree the Mets are putting the majority of their budget on Pena and banking on him being the prospect they have him ranked as number one.

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  9. I think you got the list mostly right
    Tong to me should be a top 10

    You mentioned another stern steal ?
    Who was the first?

    None have been a high top 100 prospect that we acquired yet to become a major leaguer or a key component that was used to acquire a star player yet

    I do love sterns but I am still waiting for his fingerprints and a 3rd wild card race (not birth) is not the impressive resume I want to be boasted

    I will say having our first 5million bonus baby is exciting
    I have wanted to reach for the top of the class for years

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  10. Mack 2030 is that really a year? LOL we just have to live that long. Look if Acuna and Gilbert were taller they wouldn't be Mets. Were also kinda forgetting Mauricio who I was most excited about a year ago but if he were healthy this year Mark would probably be in Cuse.

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  11. A good list, but as I was thinking about my expected/desired wish list for late 2025 or early 2026, the question occurred to me: Do we want to break the bank for Soto? Plenty of money is coming off, and hard to expect the Yankees to not be the highest bidder after already mortgaging the farm to get him, but I don’t know that I do that. Where EXACTLY is Soto amongst his peers, and will the drive always be there or is he Rendon, Bryant, Yelich, who are also all Boras clients? Can anyone recall a Boras contract working out for the team?

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