I promised all of you that, as soon as the season ended,
I would breakout and post my current Top 30 prospects.
This is performance based, not players that came to the
Mets full of promise but have only produced butterscotch pudding.
Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah
Tong are not on this list. They have graduated.
I will post them in each of my weekly Observations and In
Focus posts… one player at a time… beginning with #30.
Today, we move to #26:
1. SP Abner Mesa
19/yrs old in May 6-0 175 RHSP
2025:
DSL Mets -12-G, 8-ST, 4-3,
2.79, 1.13, 38.2-IP, 10-BB. 32-K
Abner Alejandro Meza is an 18-year-old right-handed pitcher (RHP) in the New York Mets' minor league system.
Born on May 6, 2007, in Ahome, Sinaloa, Mexico, he stands at 6'0" and weighs 175 lbs.
Meza is a recent international signee from the Mets' 2025 class, highlighting the team's growing focus on Mexican talent. He's considered one of the more promising arms from this signing period, with scouts noting his potential for a quick rise through the system.
Early Buzz: Mets IFA experts have flagged Meza as a "big follow" for 2026, predicting he'll skip back to the DSL and debut in the Florida Complex League (FCL Mets, Rookie-Advanced). He's praised for his pro debut performance and command at such a young age, drawing comparisons to other Mexican Mets arms who've progressed quickly.
2025 Performance (DSL Mets Orange)Meza made his professional debut in the 2025 DSL season, where he quickly established himself as a standout. He was named the Pitcher of the Year for the DSL Mets Orange, a testament to his dominance in a competitive rookie league. Key stats from his 10 appearances (8 starts):
Record: 4-3
ERA: 2.79
Innings Pitched: 38.2
Strikeouts: 32
Walks: 10
WHIP: 1.34
ERA+: 142
His season included a solid pro debut on August 22, 2025, where he showed poise beyond his years. Meza's control (low walk rate) and ability to miss bats in short stints suggest starter potential, though he's been used in a hybrid role early on.
Pitching Repertoire
As a young international signee, detailed pitch analytics (e.g., from TrackMan or Statcast) are limited at the DSL level, but reports from Mets scouts and IFA trackers describe a projectable arsenal suited for development. Meza's stuff is raw but electric, with room to add velocity as he matures physically. Here's a breakdown based on available scouting notes:
Four-Seam Fastball
90-93 (touches 94)
50-55%
His primary pitch; rides with natural arm-side run and late life. Command is a strength, targeting the top of the zone effectively. Projects to 94-96+ as he adds strength.
Slider
82-85
25-30%
Sharp, two-plane break with horizontal and vertical movement; generates swing-and-miss (about 15% whiff rate in DSL). Used against both righties and lefties for chases.
Changeup
82-85
15-20%
Developing off-speed option with arm-side fade; mimics fastball arm speed well, effective vs. opposite-handed hitters. Still inconsistent but shows promise for deception
Curveball
78-81
5-10%
Early-count breaker for stealing strikes; bigger 12-6 shape but less refined than the slider. Likely to be phased in or refined in 2026.
Overall Mechanics: Meza has a clean, repeatable delivery with good extension and downhill plane, helping his fastball play up. His low walk rate (2.3 BB/9) highlights plus command for an 18-year-old, but he could benefit from refining secondary pitches to handle more advanced hitters.
Strengths: Athleticism, strike-throwing ability, and upside in velocity. He's compared to other Mexican Mets prospects like Anderson Ozuna for his projectability.
Areas for Growth: Building stamina for longer outings (averaged ~3.9 IP/start) and adding a third pitch for variety. No major injury concerns reported.
Outlook Meza enters 2026 at age 19 and is ticketed for the FCL Mets, where he'll face stateside hitters for the first time. If he maintains his DSL gains, he could push to Low-A Brooklyn by late 2026 or 2027.
Mack -
You couldn't ask more from Meza this past season in DSL ball. It's impossible to project someone this young and at this level, but he definitely deserves to be on my top 30 based on what players did this season, not what they were projected to be.
Definitely a member of the FCL rotation next season.
These 9 Mets might as well pack their bags
RHP Griffin Canning
Labeling Griffin Canning as a failed free agency signing
might not be fair because he exceeded expectations. The right-hander had a 3.77
ERA in 16 starts, and the Mets went 12-4 when he pitched. Considering the fact
that he signed a one-year, $4.25 million deal, the signing truly was a good
one. The fact that he was limited to just 16 starts, though, after suffering an
Achilles tear, is why he's on this list.
Perhaps things would've gone differently had Canning, a
usable starter, been able to stay healthy, but he did not, and the Mets
probably shouldn't consider bringing him back.
I have no idea how well Canning will pitch coming off an
Achilles tear, and there's a chance the Mets will regret letting him go, but
they cannot afford to take more risks in this rotation. The Mets need more
certainty than what Canning can provide, and that's just the unfortunate
reality.
Jim
Koenigsberger @Jimfrombaseball
Scheduled to pitch for '55th Fighter Group' in England
during WWII, but as his plane was shot down, radioed his fellow pilots:
"Tell the boys I won’t be back for the game."
After his plane crashed, he was captured, held in a POW
camp and had his right leg amputated by a POW doctor.
Bert Shepard’s
recovery and running so impressed a POW camp doctor, that he asked Shepard to
demonstrate his mobility for the hospital staff.
After WWII, on the day that he officially signed with the
Washington Senators, Bert Shepard caught a cab and returned to 'Ward 49' at
Walter Reed, where he was fitted for a new artificial leg — his “baseball leg".
His first MLB game box score after the war.....
5 1/3 innings, three hits, one walk, one hit batter, two
strikeouts and one earned run.
The Boston Globe called it "by far the most
inspiring performance by a limbless veteran of WWII"
Re-grading the 3 big NY Mets trades for center fielders David Stearns has made
3) Jose Siri
When the Mets first acquired Jose Siri in November of
2024, there was reason for optimism. He could run. He could field. He could hit
20 home runs. The excitement of what he brought to the Mets as a part-time
player was palpable. Even with a huge strikeout rate expected, it felt like a
decent enough trade. All it cost them was Eric Orze,
a relief pitcher in his mid-20s who didn’t record a single out in his MLB debut
months earlier.
We felt good about the deal. It had to grade well.
Initial
Grade: B
We don’t get good SAT scores just by signing up, do we?
We have to answer some questions about math, English, and spell our names
correctly. Siri didn’t seem to do any of that right. Struggles early on and
then a near season-long injury had him mostly irrelevant for the Mets until
September when he returned to be just as forgettable.
He finished the year batting .063/.167/.125 with 17
strikeouts in 32 at-bats. An unfathomable strikeout rate and lack of production
on both sides of the ball, there’s no other way to grade this trade but to grab
your thickest red market and draw three lines.
Updated
Grade: F
Bold
MLB Offseason Predictions
https://sportsnaut.com/mlb/early-bold-mlb-offseason-predictions/
New York Mets Sign Framber
Valdez, Trade for Joe Ryan
MLB Offseason Predictions
Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
In the final two months of the regular season, New York
Mets starting pitchers had a 5.65 ERA (27th in MLB). Steve
Cohen and David Stearns will address
that, just in different ways. For Cohen, it will be allowing Pete Alonso to depart in MLB free agency and then
winning the bidding war for Framber Valdez. Coming off his age-31 season, the
5-foot-11 lefty has a 3.21 ERA over the last four seasons, averaging 191.8
innings pitched per year. It’s also worth noting that Stearns was the Houston
Astros’ assistant general manager when they signed Valdez as an international
free agent in 2015.
Framber Valdez contract prediction: 5 years, $150 million
Related: Six Legends the New York Mets Should Add to
Coaching Staff
The Mets’ president of baseball operations won’t stop
there. Stearns will also pursue multiple starters on the trade market,
including Freddy Peralta from his former
team. In January, though, a deal will ultimately come together with the
Minnesota Twins to add Joe Ryan. It will cost several of the Mets’ top
prospects, but New York will get out of it a front-line starter who is
arbitration-eligible through 2027.
25
notable MLB Hall of Famers who never won a World Series
Mike Piazza
Piazza's .308 career batting average is tied for the
fourth highest among all catchers (listed as a primary position) in MLB
history. Meanwhile, his 427 home runs are the most by anyone at the position.
One of the great offensive performers, regardless of position, in baseball
history during his 16 seasons, Piazza, a 2016 Hall inductee, starred in
baseball's two biggest markets in Los Angeles and Chicago and was part of eight
teams to reach the postseason. Yet, the 12-time All-Star's only trip to the World
Series came with the Mets in 2000, when they lost to the rival Yankees in five
games.
Mets
Player Development @MetsPlayerDev
Here's the Mets top 10 prospects according to the latest MLBPipeline
update!
Should the Mets move on from Jeff
McNeil?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/should-the-mets-move-on-from-jeff-mcneil/ar-AA1O6xs0
Since making his major league debut in 2018, Jeff McNeil
has been one of the Mets' most productive hitters. The 33-year-old has also
been a versatile player for the team, having started games primarily at second
base and third base, as well as all three outfield spots; the veteran had
learned to play center field this season and was serviceable. However, while
McNeil has certainly been a spark plug during his eight seasons with the Mets,
now may seem like the time to look for trade suitors for the dynamic but aging
utility man.
Over his first five seasons in the big leagues, McNeil
had an impressive slash line of .307/.370/.458; most notably, he won the NL
Batting Title in 2022 after finishing the season with an MLB-best .326 batting
average. But over the next three seasons, the two-time All-Star has hit just
.253/.326/.389.
McNeil's drop in productivity hasn't been the only
concern; injuries over the last couple of seasons have also plagued him. He was
held to 129 games in 2024 after fracturing his wrist when he was hit by a pitch
on September 6 against the Cincinnati Reds, forcing him to miss the rest of the
regular season.
With McNeil entering the final year of a four-year, $50
million extension he signed with the Mets in January 2023, which includes a
$15.75 million club option for 2027, now may be a realistic time to find a
trade partner.
2 Yankees free agents we may see
in Queens, 2 NY Mets who could ride to the Bronx
1. Cody Bellinger to
the Mets
No disrespect is intended towards Tyrone Taylor; he was
an unlikely hero amongst few in 2025 for the Mets, but Cody Bellinger can boost
an offensive presence the team hasn't seen from the outfield in quite some time
while bringing Gold Glove-caliber defense. He was among the league's elite
defensive outfielders in 2025 with a fielding run value of nine (91st
percentile). With Soto and Nimmo -- two guys not necessarily known for
defensive prowess -- as your other outfielders, it's crucial to have a strong
glove out there.
Bellinger slashed .272/.334/.480 with a 125 wRC+ in 2025,
with 29 home runs and 98 RBI. He may no longer be the MVP-caliber hitter he was
earlier in his career, but he has done an excellent job reinventing himself as
an above-average bat. His biggest defect at the plate is his struggle to hit
the ball hard, but the Mets will happily take his offense over a lot of guys --
especially Tyrone Taylor, who finished the
season with an OPS of just .598. That’s tough to ignore, no matter how good you
are on defense.
8 comments:
To me, DSL Guys like Meza I put in prospects 31-50. Not in top 30, except for Pena and Yovanny. The hitters that pitchers face down there make it hard to predict any pitcher not throwing 97-99.
We need a Framber Alert in Queens, and an ordinary Joe, too.
I’d not give up on Canning yet. He just needs to show He is 100% healed in February. I don’t know his repair timeline. So if he won’t be ready until mid-season, I agree to pass, unless he is REALLY cheap and can be stashed for the 2nd half. A 12-4 record doesn’t grow on trees in Queens.
That one-legged pitcher…wow.
I looked up Bert Shepard’s stats. It was his only MLB game. He got to pitch the last 5 (great) innings because the two pitchers before him with 2 good legs allowed 14 runs in 4 innings. What an achievement.
Bellinger's defense would make up for any regression in his offense. He's a solid addition if he could be signed. I'm not convinced Canning is an answer as his pitching started slipping just before the injury. He was better than anticipated but coming off a major injury and without much of a track record I'm not sold that he's the right player to bring back.
Meza
As I stated, this is not your standard top prospect list
It's ONLY based on 2025 results, not what was promised
Framber
Big on this guy.
Did I tell you he's a lefty?
One legged pitcher
Haven't the Mets have had a ton of no arm pitchers?
Canning has no room in my rotation
Bellinger would give the Mets great defensive options in both center and on first.
Plus he can hit a bit.
Only sign Bellinger if Alonso walks.
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