Reese Kaplan -- Mets Players to Watch During September

Little by little the Mets are going to test drive some players for the 2027 season.  While you can’t draw definitive conclusions from 30 days of September play, it certainly will add a modest level of interest for awaiting the end of the highly forgettable 2026 season.

The first newcomer to see regularly should be Nick Morabito.  He’s an interesting player with excellent base running speed and modest power but did not have a memorable season in Syracuse.  A career minor league .281 hitter who has stolen as many as 59 bases in the 2024 season, his high water mark in home runs is 13 this year.  Some feel excited to have two potential stolen base kings in left and right field while others feel Morabito tops out as a different style Tyrone Taylor replacement as at best a fourth outfielder.

Recent call up Dylan Ross is viewed by many as a potential closer with elite strikeout stuff.  In 36+ innings pitched in Syracuse this year he notched 45 strikeouts.  For his minor league career he has successfully fanned 131 in 95+ innings pitched. The other shiny number is 67 hits allowed in those same 95+ IP.  Where it gets a bit questionable is on his walks allowed.  By allowing free baserunners his WHIP is an average 1.385.  With just a single inning of major league experience no one really knows which Dylan Ross will emerge this final month of the season.

The third interesting guy to watch is starting pitcher Justin Hagenman who is going to provide extra rest for Christian Scott who appears to be wearing down and the Tylor Megill clone named Robert Stock who could throw a gem or a turd without any pattern of consistency.  A look at Hagenman’s minor league numbers are interesting but puzzling.  He’s split time between relieving and starting.  He does give up many more hits than Ross, but he’s shown very good control with 503 strikeouts and just 136 walks over a log of 487+ innings pitched.  The WHIP number is therefore better than what you see from Ross.  No one is sure what will be seen from Hagenman. 

Some of the others are already making their next season cases known.  Nate Lavender is highly likely to be the first southpaw to helm the pen after the dual departures of A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley.  When he comes into games people are not reaching for their antacids.  Right hander Daniel Duarte owns a 2.19 ERA thus far for the Mets at the major league level.

Others in the pen are more work in progress.  Celebratory reliever Jefry Yan, recently returned Austin Warren and Jonathan Pintaro are all north of 4.00 with their ERAs.  Recovering reliever Dedniel Nunez is north of 5.00.  They are the ones who most need to step up during September to factor into major league play in 2027. 

Then there are the bench players like Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and others who have not established themselves for any Mets future.