MACK- My Friday Observations : Mets Futures: 2B, Vientos

 

Morning.

 

Yesterday, we discussed both the current and future of first base.

Today, we take around eight steps to the right and move back to the edge of grass.

Second base.

Frankly, there seems to be enough guys right now on the parent Mets to move this discussion on to short. In fact, if you ask me who the current starter here was, I would be unable to anoint one player here. Right now, the starter varies from Jeff McNeil to Brett Baty to Luisangel Acuña.  My guess is Baty is becoming the permanent third baseman, but you watch. As soon as I write that next Wednesday, Carlos Mendoza will play him back here.

For the sake of argument, and this series, my team currently have an exciting speed demon that may be the best fielder on this team (Acuña) and an ex-batting champ that is under contract until the end of the 2026 (2027 opt) season (McNeil). Additionally, if needed, there is a capable third wheel if injuries hit both Acuna and McNeil (Baty). To me, all good for 2026.

Past that, there is currently one option for 2026, a possible one for 2027, and another possible for 2028.

The 2026 option is the current number one prospect for the Mets… as either a shortstop or centerfielder. Nowhere do you read about Jett Williams being a second baseman, but, with short blocked until sometime next decade, and center could easily go to another prospect, the only way you would get Williams in the Mets lineup is to move at least one of Acuna or McNeil. He’s currently is pulling his weight in Binghamton and there is a good chance he could finish this season in Syracuse. This makes my ETA for Jett to be around the 2026 all-star break. Williams has the kind of raw talent that makes teams make room for him, so my guess he will start somewhere. Unless he is traded for a biggie. As they say… news at eleven.

Past Williams, the two “maybe” options all started strong this year. One started strong at St. Lucie, but is now tepid in Brooklyn (Marco Vargas) and Trey Snyder, who is hitting in the .250 range for St. Lucie. I have to see a lot more out of these two before I consider them viable options to start at second in, Flushing.

My guess?

The future of second baseman first belongs to Acuna, followed by Williams. Sadly, next season McNeil begins the odd man out process.

Top Bat Speed Decliners (2024 to 2025)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6373938/2025/05/22/fantasy-baseball-2025-player-outlook-bat-speed/

Mark Vientos, however, needs to find his 2024 bat speed. He’s making better swing decisions, but his barrel rate is down by half to 7%. I have no inside knowledge here, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he has some nagging aches and pains messing with his swing just enough to cause a significant drop-off.

Mets the best in baseball at limiting extra-base hits

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6386784/2025/05/28/mets-limit-extra-base-hits/

Through two months of the 2025 season, New York’s pitching staff is the best in the majors at preventing extra-base hits.

To understand this, let’s use the stat “isolated power,” or “ISO,” which is just slugging percentage minus batting average. The league-average ISO is .150.

    1.    Mets        0.103

    2.    Giants      0.121

    3.    Red Sox   0.121

    4.    Twins       0.126

    5.    Yankees   0.126

NL Rookie of the Year Odds

https://www.justbaseball.com/mlb/nl-al-rookie-of-the-year-odds/

1. Drake Baldwin/Atlanta Braves                                    +275         

2. AJ Smith-Shawver/Atlanta Braves                             +425         

3. Agustín Ramírez/Miami Marlins                                 +500         

4. Logan Henderson/Milwaukee Brewers                    +700         

5. Matt Shaw/Chicago Cubs                                               +1200       

6. Chad Patrick/Milwaukee Brewers                              +1400       

7. Hyeseong Kim/LA Dodgers                                           +1800       

7. Luisangel Acuna/New York Mets                                +1800

Possible Mets Trade Package for Paul Skenes

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6387091/2025/05/28/paul-skenes-pirates-mlb-trade-proposals/

New York Mets

Proposed package: OF Carson Benge, 1B Ryan Clifford, SS/OF Jett Williams, RHP Brandon Sproat

The Mets could offer arguably their four best prospects for Skenes. Sproat could effectively replace Skenes in the Pirates’ rotation immediately, while Benge, Clifford and Williams would give them a trio of bats who would improve their lineup in the long term. This is the weakest package of the five, but among this group of potential trade partners, the Mets are the team that needs Skenes the most. He’d pair with Kodai Senga to lead a rotation that surprisingly tops the majors in ERA (2.85) this season.

                           Mack –

                           I assume that the Pirates evaluate players and prospects better than they play baseball games. This is really weak package for the second-best pitcher in the game. Clifford continues to show that he probably shouldn’t have been traded for Sproat is reliever in the making. It will take, at least, two more power names here. One, could come from the A+ or FCL level, but the other would have to be prime raw meat. If it was me, I would replace Clifford and Sproat with either Ronnie Mauricio or Jonah Tong, and replace Sproat with Estarling Mercado.