OUTFIELD
I’m not breaking this down to right field, center, and left.
Everybody at these levels has then ability to play all three positions and many
did this past season. As in the past, all three positions will be rated under
the “outfield” umbrella.
Also, as for the current Mets outfield of Juan Soto, Carson
Benge, AJ Ewing, and Nick Morabito, for simplicity reasons, I have
loped them into a 4-headed monster.
RED PROSPECT
MLB/Mets – Juan Soto/Carson Benge/AJ Ewing/Nick Morabito –
For the purposes of saving words here, the four above
mentioned Mets outfielders are now a four-headed monster that should be playing
together into the next decade. There is a chance that Soto moves to either
first base, or becomes a designated hitter. This would make room for one of the
two RED prospects that just finished up in
Brooklyn. As for the OF5 position, my hopes is Chris
Suero turns into this while holding down another position as his primary
job. Either way, these four mainstays may turn out to be the most talented
outfield foursome in the league.
A+/Brooklyn – Aiden Robbins –
(21) – RHH – LF/CF/RF – 3rd. rd. 2026 - Remember this name. But is
his defensive game up to replacing anyone currently in the lineup? Nicknamed
“Baseball Jesus”, Robbins has only average speed ad an average arm, he really
doesn’t lineup as a future Mets centerfielder. What he does have on his side is
that he is considered an athlete’s athlete, with excellent instincts that trump
the lack of God given talents. Still, I see Robbins as a bat-first corner
outfielder that could push Soto to first. I do want to see a little more pop,
but a good start to his pro-career: A/A+: 96-AB, 27-K, 5-HR, 18-RBI, 14-BB,
.281/.378/.458/.837. I loved this guy at Texas… 24-HR/.333. Trust me. He’s only
21. This is a 25-HR/75-RBI/.275 waiting to happen.
A+/Brooklyn – Trey Snyder –
(21) – RHH – CF/SS/2B/3B – 5th rd. 2024 – boy, was this a pleasant
surprise this past season. First… love the positional flexibility. Off the bat,
he lines up for a future utility position. Bat wise, in 2026, hit over .30o for
the FCL Mets (.333), and St. Lucie (.306), then came back to earth for
bat-unfriendly Brooklyn (.264). Overall, over three levels: 291-AB, 72-K,
27-BB, 28-SB, 4-HR, 53-RBI, .289/.348/.388/.736. Defensively, he
is still learning centerfield, though he only had one outfield error for the
entire season (26 infield errors over two seasons). I expect him to be the
Binghamton centerfielder next season.
A+/Brooklyn – Aidan Smith –
(22) – RHH – CF/RF/LF – 4th rd. 2023 – Smith was just an average
under-preforming minor league outfielder until he was traded to the Mets and
then shipped out to the bat unfriendly stadium in Coney Island. So, what does
he do? - 84-AB, 5-HR, .321/.414/.524/.938. Go figure, right? Primarily a
centerfielder. Known for speed, strong defense, and power arm. Has to work on
his strikeout rate. Look for him in the AA/Binghamton centerfield slot next
opening day. How he improves on his batting skills will determine any chance he
has of moving Ewing someday.
BLUE PROSPECT
AAA/Syracuse – D’Andre Smith –
(25) – RHH – also plays 2B and SS – 5th rd. 2022 – primarily is in
left when he plays in the outfield. Played five levels in 2026, including a cup
of coffee for the Mets (2-5, .400). .250 overall minor league BA in 244-AB, but
really exploded at the end of the season for AAA/Syracuse (109-AB, 6-HR, .294).
Problem was around a 50% K/AB% at this level (59-K). For this reason, I look at
what he did here last season as an aberration. You aren’t going to move Juan
Soto out of left striking out half the time. A lot has to change in to even consider
him in a utility role.
AA/Binghamton – John Bay –
(25) – RHH – CF/RF/LF – 2025 UDFA – had power-filled college career at Austin
Peay (2025 – 22-HR, 66-RBI, .360/.507/.769/1.276), which is why it was a
mystery he wasn’t drafted. Off to slow start last season in A+/Brooklyn (.232),
but did have a halfway decent season after being promoted to AA/Binghamton
(131-AB, 48-K, 3-HR, 17-RBI, 11-SB, 20-BB, .252/.363/.366/.729). Has shown
solid power and plate discipline, plus good walk rates and HBP totals. I have
him as a future utility outfield candidate (at best).
A/St. Lucie – John Smith III –
(22) – RHH – RF/CF/LF – 19th rd. 2026 – hit .322 as a draft eligible
sophomore in 2026. A steal as a 19th round pick. Combined A/St.
Lucie & A+/Brooklyn: 59-AB, 11-K, 3-HR, 10-RB1, 4-SB, 4-BB,
.305/.373/.542/.916. Went crazy during his 18 at-bats in pitcher friendly
Brooklyn: .444/.545/.722/.1.268. It will be
interesting to see what he does in the off-season and where the Mets start him
off in the spring. Raw power, excellent bat speed, and above-average speed. All
the stars in Brooklyn will move on, so there three starting outfield slots will
probably be filled by Snyder, Smith, and Robbins. I guess ‘John-John’ returns
to Brooklyn.
A/St. Lucie – Bohan Adderley –
(19) – RHH – CF/SS/3B – IFA 2024 – hit .270 for the FCL Mets last season… then
was promoted to St. Lucie (45-AB) and hit .311. Born in Nassau, Bahamas. Known
for top-rated speed and stolen base ability (83 minor league stolen bases in
162 games). Now primarily plays in the outfield, mostly in center. Adderley is
all futures but off to a great start. I expect him to return to St. Lucie for
opening day 2027.
RK/DSL – Cleiner Ramirez –
(17) – RHH – CF/DH/SS - $1.37mil signing bonus on 1-15-2026. Played 2026
exclusively for the Mets DSL-Orange team: 145-AB, 27-K,
18-SB, 18-BB, 7-HR, 22-RBI, .241/.357/.462/.819.
Was the second top international signee in 2026, behind Wandy Asigen. Didn’t have the best year, but didn’t suck
either. Let’s remember he was 17. 2027? May be left behind to mature, but I
would play him there until the FCL season starts, then bring him over. Huge
power potential here.
RK/DSL – Henry Manrique –
(17) – RHH – LF/RF/CF – a mere pub. Has shown strong early plate discipline and
contact. 2026 – DSL-Mets Blue: 152-AB, 34-K, 1-HR, 21-RBI, 11-SB, 40-BB,
.296/.443/.428/.871. Has 220 plate appearances under his belt, so there is a
chance he will ship out to Florida. But I expect him to remain in the DR for
the beginning of the 2027 season.
ALMOST PROSPECT
MACK SPIN – It’s pretty easy to rate a position when you
have four RED rated players already playing for your parent team. And, in two
years, there are three more that may make finding a designated hitter possible.
The Mets have a lot of positions that need to deal with… this is not one of
them.
RATING – A+
When your top prospects are all infield types, it’s great to know the outfield is already covered.
ReplyDeleteSoto has a good arm and can stay in LF for now with the occasional rotation to DH, but from what I saw Wwing has alot of work to do to learn route running in CF. Morabito sounds fine but Aiden Smith sounds like the top name defensively in CF. It sucks that Serrano can’t stay healthy.
Lastly, we can expect one of Asigen, Pena, Pitre, Stafura, Vargas, Voit to go to the grass.
*Ewing…
DeleteIMO no additional prospects needed here for now
ReplyDeleteBlue In Face Dept.
Need established stud 1Bman (jeez)
Need new catcher
Need Skubal
Need one established reliever
Outfield looking GREAT.
ReplyDeleteTorrens/Alvarez dont do it for you?
ReplyDeleteWho says no to Skubal? But the thing that left me speechless today was that Morejon is a Skubal type pitcher that could become a starter. Morejon has the repertoire and throws close to 100 innings, so why not stretch him out for 30 more?
They don't Gus. They just don't. Especially Alvarez.
DeleteSkubal also seems capable to live with the press gaggle.
DeleteLook
The Mets are getting closer of having a 26 with 20 quality team controlled players
Still need to eat a handful of bad contracts then major expenditures would be:
Soto
Skubal
Bichette
Lindor
I agree that the outfield is in good shape, although I worry about too much Soto out there because he really doesn't go all-out for balls. You almost never see him with a dirty uniform. Can he play first? Unknown, but I don't think he has any more lateral quickness than other candidates. That translates to lower DRS/OAA numbers, which is why Pete is not there.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure there's a good reason, but: Why isn't Soto our DH? Period.
DeleteI think there are two reasons why Soto is not a full time DH. Neither is a necessary condition, both are individually sufficient. First, he doesn't want to be at this point in his career The second is that there is not an adequate replacement for him in LF at this point.. By adequate I mean the following: A replacement is adequate only if the expected vakye if the combination of that player's performance offensively and defensively in conjunction with the performance of Soto offensively is greater than the expected value of the combination of Soto's performance in left field offensively and defensively in combination with the offensive performance of the best performer the Mets can secure at the DH position at the same cost (more or less) . This is the simple formulation. There is a more complicated one that I prefer but is not worth getting into here at this point since it is enough that Soto isn't ready to switch roles. He is under 30 and is looking towards having a HOF career which he thinks may be damaged by spending so much of his career as a DH
ReplyDeleteHaving Soto become THE DH is parallel to having Secretariat stop running and just screw. Far less wear and tear, not to mention chance of injury. Regarding HOF: If Soto emerges from the dugout 4 - 5 times each game, fresh with fire in his eyes - — for 10 more years is there any doubt about HOF. From what I see Soto, with great talent, is a barbershop player.
ReplyDelete