MACK: MY Wednesday Observations -Where Should The Prospects End Up At The End Of The Season – Infielders - Senga, Peterson, Baty, McNeil, Benge, Trade Deadline

 

Where Should The Prospects End Up At The End Of The Season – Infielders

 

We move on to da bats…

Currently, the Mets have a lot of options, under contract, to play the three positions in the infield considered interchangeable… second base, short, and third.

The options are:

    -second base:  Jeff McNeil and LuisAngel Acuna

    -shortstop:      Francisco Alvarez and Ronny Mauricio

    -third base:     Brett Baty and Mark Vientos

The most versatile of these six would be Mauricio, who can play all three positions. I would also consider Vientos “almost” versatile at first base and the Mets might consider playing his at that position in Syracuse when he returns from his current injury. Yes, the Mets will make a run at re-contracting Pete Alonso, but, if lost, they will need at least a one season fill-in here.

This totally blocks anyone currently playing AAA-ball from being promoted, though, frankly, there is no one there that has a chance anyway.

AAA-Syracuse gets more talentok 8ed next season, due to the graduation from AA-ball of Jett Williams and Ryan Clifford. Williams could wind up in the outfield, but my guess he will join the parent club as soon as one of the six listed above are traded or fart out. Clifford is a definite power hitter who plays both a capable first and in both corners.

A shite load of prospect talent will open up 2026 at AA-Binghamton. Five are infielders alone, led by RED prospect 3B Jesus Baez. Others are 1B Estarling Mercado, 2B Marco Vargas, SS Boston Baro, and Swiss Army knife Jacob Reimer. Mercado is a curious recent addition here. The 22/year old former IFA is hitting in the .290 range for Brooklyn and my hopes is he develops more pop on the way.

After that, things get thin. 2B/SS Jeremy Rodriguez is truly the only lower level prospect infielder right now (he will play Brooklyn in 2026) while others, like 1B Trace Willhoite, 2B Trey Snyder, SS Kevin Villiaviceio have a way to go before qualifying for prospect status. DSL prospects, Bohan Anthony and Elian Pena are underperforming so far this season.

Overall, the future of the Mets infield is so bright, I’m looking for my shades.

Which Mets deserve to be All-Stars?

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6412689/2025/06/09/mets-all-star-candidates/

Kodai Senga (SP)

Senga has yet to sound all that pleased with his results this season, yet here he is, into June, with a 1.59 ERA that leads the National League.

The peripheral numbers are not as enthusiastic on what Senga’s done this season, and the likelihood from here is that Paul Skenes is making his second consecutive start for the senior circuit. But provided the bottom doesn’t fall out over the next few weeks, Senga should be on the team for the second time.

 

David Peterson (SP)

How’s this for a sneaky candidacy? Peterson is seventh in the NL in ERA at 2.80, backing up the 2.83 mark he posted over the final four months last season. Again, his peripheral numbers aren’t as sparkling, and it’s tough to crack the pitching staff in this game since a lot of teams with only one All-Star send a pitcher. However, that he belongs in the conversation is worth noting.

You could probably put Griffin Canning (2.90 ERA) and Clay Holmes (2.95) in this same bucket.

Which Infield Combo Will the Mets Settle On for 2025?

https://www.justbaseball.com/mlb/new-york-mets-news-infield-combo-2025/

Brett Baty

Considering Brett Baty is in his fourth season as a big leaguer, it is easy to forget that he is still just 25 years of age. After looking like a complete bust for three years, he won a spot on the big league roster with a big spring training, but quickly lost that job after posting an OPS of .597 over his first 19 games.

When Jesse Winker strained his oblique on May 4, Baty got another shot and ran with it.

Since his recall, Baty has raised his full-season OPS by more than 100 points, posting a .766 clip in 29 games. Most notably, between May 21 and 31, Baty slashed .367/.441/.567 for an OPS of 1.008 while going 11-for-30. He mixed in a double, a triple and a home run, along with nine RBIs.

After being billed as a defensive liability early in his career, Baty has taken huge strides in the field. Logging time at both second and third base, his two outs above average place him in the 86th percentile leaguewide.

Baty is the Mets’ best defensive option at the hot corner even when Vientos is healthy, a characteristic that will net him consistent playing time, although his OPS against righties is nearly 200 points higher than his total against southpaws.

This, along with his .857 OPS with runners in scoring position — many of the Mets’ higher-profile bats have struggled in high-leverage spots — figures to make Baty an everyday option, at least against right-handed arms.

 

Jeff McNeil

Jeff McNeil of the New York Mets reacts after he hit a solo home run in the first inning against the Washington Nationals during game two of a double header at Citi Field.

While Jeff McNeil is not the player he once was, he continues to make an impact for the Mets. Three years removed from a batting title, McNeil has become a new type of hitter, and with the help of a torpedo bat, has posted an OPS+ of 154 in 35 games.

His season got off to a delayed start after he suffered an oblique strain in spring training, but since he returned, he has posted an uncharacteristic .533 slugging percentage – the highest of his career.

Even more out of the ordinary, McNeil — who owns a .288 career batting average — is hitting at just a .257 clip this year. However, he is still a tough strikeout, with just 9.7% and 12.1% strikeout and whiff rates, respectively.

McNeil has lost a step defensively but still can play second base, as well as all three outfield positions.

The fact remains that the “Flying Squirrel” is not the player he once was. However, he can still be a valuable piece for the Mets. Versatility and high contact are still valuable skills on teams across the league, and McNeil is certainly capable of providing the Mets with that. Moreover, if he keeps hitting for this much power, it will be hard for Mendoza to ever take him out of the lineup.

Scouting

Carson Benge

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6414371/2025/06/10/travis-sykora-carson-benge-scouting-mets-nationals/

When I saw Carson Benge in April, he was struggling at the plate and having trouble with his front side, completely rolling over his front foot so that I could see the entire sole of his cleat when I was sitting up the side of the batter’s box. He was still doing that in mid-May, but when I saw him Friday, he’d reduced it somewhat, still rolling his heel but not coming totally apart the way he had in April.

Carson Benge has a .902 OPS for Brooklyn. (Nick Cammett / Diamond Images via Getty Images)

He’s been on a tear for the last few weeks; since the Cyclones played a series in the hitter’s haven of Asheville, he’s hit .303/.432/.526 with almost as many walks (15) as strikeouts (17). He’s also been hitting far more line drives after being very groundball-heavy in the early going, although his strong exit velocities are showing up more in his BABIP than in over-the-fence power. It’s all good news, with the hope the Mets can get him to lift the ball just a little bit more so he can put more balls in the seats.

Mets trade deadline primer

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6417807/2025/06/12/mets-trade-deadline-primer/

How much pressure will the Mets face to add?

The worst place to be on July 31 is backed into a corner. That’s where the Mets were in 2021, when they needed to do something — probably involving an infielder with Francisco Lindor out for a while — and ended up trading Pete Crow-Armstrong for Javier Báez.

The Mets shouldn’t face that kind of pressure next month. Entering play Wednesday, their chances to make the postseason sat above 90 percent at FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus and Baseball-Reference. Their chances to win the National League East were 86 percent at FanGraphs and 80 percent at BP. Last week, New York won more games than the other four teams in the division combined. It’s in a good spot.

However, anything can transpire over the seven weeks separating now from the deadline. Going back to 2021, neither Lindor nor Jacob deGrom were hurt until early July, a sequence of events that started the Mets’ tailspin in the second half of that season. A major injury can alter the tenor of New York’s season.