MACK - MY FRIDAY OBSERVATIONS - MACK'S #15 PROSPECT/C CHRIS SUERO - November Additions, Mets Grading, Skubal, Fan Survey, Tucker, Diaz, D, Jhoangel Marquez, Pete

 

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. A perfect example of a player that didn’t make this list is catcher Ronald Hernandez. I still like the guy, but based on what he did in 2025, I don’t like him as a “top 30 guy”.

Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong _(maybe) 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 #15:

15.    C      Chris Suero

Will play 2026 as a 22/yr. old         also plays 1B & LF

2025 – A+/AA:    475-PA, 139-K, 70-BB, 16-HR, 68-RBI, 35-SB, .786-OPS

Chris Suero (full name: Christopher Antonio Suero) is a 21-year-old catcher in the New York Mets' minor league system, known for his rare blend of power, speed, and versatility that makes him one of the more intriguing young backstops in baseball.

Born on January 27, 2004, in the Bronx, New York, Suero grew up in the Sedgwick Houses public housing project in the University Heights neighborhood, honing his skills on the city's gritty fields before pursuing his dream abroad.

At just 15 years old, he left the Bronx for the Dominican Republic, leveraging his Dominican heritage (through his parents) to qualify as an international free agent. He trained at the Academia Carlos Paulino in Nizao, impressing scouts despite not being a top headliner.

In March 2022, the Mets signed him to a modest $10,000 bonus—far below the multimillion-dollar deals for elite international teens—marking him as an undrafted gem rather than a blue-chip prospect.

5'11", 205 lbs; Bats and throws right-handed.

Positions: Primarily a catcher (60 games behind the plate in 2024), but his athleticism allows him to play first base (23 games in 2024), left field (28 games in 2024), and even contribute as a versatile utility player. Scouts compare him to Toronto's Daulton Varsho for his multi-positional upside.

Standout Traits: Suero's speed is elite for a catcher—he led all minor league catchers with 35 stolen bases in 2025 (25 in High-A, 10 across other levels). His swing features simple footwork, a short load, and an uphill path that generates power, though he can struggle with high pitches.

13.6% walk rate in 2024

With Francisco Alvarez entrenched as the Mets' top backstop, Suero adds valuable depth to a catcher-rich farm system. Fans and analysts see him as a "prospect nobody saw coming," with leadership traits already shining through (e.g., hyping teammates in Brooklyn). If he refines his defense and sustains the power-speed combo, a Citi Field homecoming for the Bronx kid isn't far-fetched.

ETA: 2026

MACK – look… I love this guy, but he has to come up with a way to stop trying to be the home run leader, work on the ability to make hits other than homers, and let his God given strength take over. If he does this, he will hit around .250, smack 20-25 home runs, and make it to The Bigs.

3 unspecified NY Mets roster additions they’ll definitely make in November

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3) The Mets add to their outfield depth and we wonder how the player will even fit in

The Mets added a lot to their depth chart last year in the form of center field protection. Aside from the ill-fated trade for Jose Siri, they signed Rafael Ortega to a minor league deal. You may remember him most from the 2023 Mets–if you remember much about the final two months of that season.

Center field is one of the most difficult positions to fill with the Mets needing a boost bigger than a Siri or Ortega at some point. In some format, they’re going to bring in a name we recognize to join the center field mix and do it early on. 

The plan is for Carson Benge to take over within a few months. Someone disposable with either superb defense and/or ability to mash pitchers of one handedness makes the most sense.

Mets fan survey results

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6757524/2025/10/29/mets-fan-survey-results-2025/

The direction of the franchise

How would you grade…?

Steve Cohen's five years as owner

A             -              48%

B             -              42%

C             -              9%

D             -              1%

F              -              1%

David Stearns' two years as president of baseball operations

A             -              8%

B             -              56%

C             -              29%

D             -              5%

F              -              2%

Carlos Mendoza's two years as manager

A             -              6%

B             -              56%

C             -              31%

D             -              6%

F              -              1%

Cohen still earns the highest marks. The Mets haven’t reached his ultimate ambition in five years as an owner, but the fan base has remained at his back.

3 Scott Boras clients who would never leave if it weren't for their agent

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LHP Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers

Tarik Skubal is entering the final year of his contract with the Tigers. Spotrac pegs his free agent market value next winter at eight years and roughly $300 million. Frankly, there's a chance Skubal could get upwards of $100 million more than that given his status as the best pitcher in the American League. Detroit is an excellent organization top to bottom, but the odds of Scott Harris and ownership spending on the level necessary to extend Skubal are slim to none.

This sets up the potential continuation of an increasingly frustrating trend for Tigers fans. Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer — generationally gifted aces just keep falling through the cracks. Detroit can develop talent internally as well as any organization in MLB, but their inability to keep those players long term is a real limiting factor.

Skubal has nothing but love for Detroit, and we know the Tigers want to keep him. It's fair to expect Harris and the front office to extend a little bit beyond their comfort zone in an effort re-sign the fireballing southpaw. At the end of the day, though, the Tigers can't (and won't) win a bidding war, which is precisely what Boras envisions for his client a year from now. Skubal is going to test the waters, run up the price and take the best offer sheet on the table. Odds are it's coming from New York, Los Angeles or Boston — not Motor City

Mets fan survey results

hCLICK HERE

What would make the 2026 season a success?

Winning the World Series

14%

Winning the pennant

26%

Advancing to the NLCS

25%

Advancing to the NLDS

7%

A division title

14%

A postseason berth

14%

“This is the standard,” Stearns said in a champagne celebration in Oct. 2024, and Mets fans agree. Nearly two-thirds of them think the Mets need to be in the sport’s final four for 2026 to be a success.

Kyle Tucker

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Tucker played nearly a full season in 2025 after missing about half of 2024 due to injury, but he didn’t have the kind of full-season breakout year that the Cubs were hoping to get when they traded three players for him last offseason. He actually hit fewer homers this year (22) than he did in his abbreviated 2024 season (23), and all of his Statcast power indicators were down and his ISO was the lowest of his career. He played with a hairline fracture in his right hand for over half of the season, however, and that almost certainly explains his power outage. He suffered the injury on June 1, when he was slugging .524, returned three days later and slugged just .415 the rest of the season. That’s a good reason to bet on a bounceback from him in 2026, as is the fact that he continued to improve his pitch selection, matching the lowest chase rate of his career while swinging more at pitches in the zone.

He’s been an above-average defender in right for most of his career and should remain so for several more seasons. He’s one of the youngest free agents in the class, as well, so a long-term deal gets the signing club several of his peak seasons. I think after an offseason to let his hand strength return, he’ll go back to being a 30-homer player with OBPs in the top 10 percent of his league for multiple years, and he should get the biggest free-agent deal of the winter because of that upside.

 

Predicting MLB Teams' Qualifying Offers and If Players Reject or Accept

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Edwin Díaz

Will Mets Extend Qualifying Offer? Yes

Will Díaz Accept Qualifying Offer? No

Edwin Díaz was once again dominant in 2025, posting a 1.63 ERA and recording 28 saves over 62 games for the New York Mets this past year. He's going to opt out of the final two seasons of his five-year, $102 million deal this offseason.

Díaz did get close to free agency after his legendary 2022 season, but the Mets re-signed him before he could get to free agency or they even had to make a decision on a qualifying offer. So he is eligible for the QO, and will receive and decline one this offseason.

The 31-year-old has three great seasons in his nine-year MLB career. He doesn't have the same year-to-year consistency as some of the greatest relievers in MLB history, but at his best, he's a Hall of Fame-level reliever.

Díaz's entrance also makes him one of the few relievers in MLB history that actually brings fans out to the park, which shouldn't be discounted when trying to determine his value.

Questions For David Sterns

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Defensive emphasis

Since joining the Mets, you’ve made no secret about your desire to improve the club’s defense. Yet, nearly all of the moves made to improve the defense have been, well, less than good. Harrison Bader, Zack Short, Joey Wendle and Jose Siri were all disasters. Why should we believe that the next crop of defensive players will be any better?

 

Mets Prospect Group         @bkfan09

MPG EXCLUSIVE

Mets have added RHP Jhoangel Marquez to their current IFA Class

 

Ca-Ching! Baseball America predicts big contracts for the top NY Mets free agents

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What Baseball America projects the top 5 Mets free agents earn on their next contract

Pete Alonso - 7 years, $175 million

The dollar amount isn’t insane although it’s on the upper part of what we could theorize. Seven years? It would take Pete Alonso through his age 38 season. Alonso feels like the kind of player who might have to earn a contract later on in his career. Buyer beware if you’re willing to go seven years.