ANGRY MIKE: 2025 METS FARM SYSTEM REVIEW

ANGRY MIKE

The Mets 2025 season ended in humiliating fashion, and its painfully obvious there are literally dozens of examples of games that could've easily resulted in the single win they needed that could've helped them qualify for the playoffs. The only way to ease the humiliation and pain is to focus on the future. Ripping on the 2025 Mets is currently the best way for social media harpies and ignorant podcasters to farm the engagement they need to stay relevant. Let them, it changes nothing about the fact the Mets Farm System was ranked #1 in the MLB by analysts who love to trivialize the talent we have up and down the system. 

Regardless of where their system ranks in 2026, the collection of impact talent the Mets have throughout the minor leagues is the BEST IN FRANCHISE HISTORY. Despite how 2025 ended, it should be David Stearns' focus not to overreact to 2025 and prioritize developing the talent we have in the upper levels so the Mets can continue to graduate the impact talent we need to finally build a sustainable winner.

The Mets had an incredible number of prospects at every level exhibit tremendous growth in their progressions, with an increasing number of potential impact players beginning next season in the upper levels of the minors. We'll let others rank the prospects how they see fit, but my focus is to systematically analyze the prospects I believe off the most upside and which ones you should follow most closely for the 2026 season.

Below is a list of which prospects we will be providing individual reports for, as well as an outline for what data we will include for each individual report.

A. 2025 Season B. 2026 Outlook C. Updated Scouting Report D. Potential best fit within the Mets organization. E. “X-Book” for each player -> “Links” to 2025 highlights. Mets 2026 Farm System Outlook: NOLAN MCLEAN - SP  ELIAN PENA - SS JONAH TONG - SP  JETT WILLIAMS - 2B/CF/SS BRANDON SPROAT - SP CARSON BENGE - CF/RF  JONATHAN SANTUCCI - SP A.J. EWING - SS/CF/2B ZACH THORNTON - SP  JACOB REIMER - 1B/3B/LF/DH RYAN CLIFFORD - 1B/RF/LF/DH PETER KUSSOW - SP TREY SNYDER - SS/CF  YOVANNY RODRIGUEZ - C JACK WENNINGER - SP  NICK MORABITO - CF/LF  MITCH VOIT - 2B/CF COLIN HOUCK - 3B/RF WILL WATSON - SP  RYAN LAMBERT - RP/CL DYLAN ROSS - RP/CL BRENDAN GIRTON - SP/RP CAMDEN LOHMAN - SP RANDY GUZMAN - OF EDWARD LANTIGUA - OF  CHRIS SUERO - C/OF DAVIEL HURTADO - SP/RP MARCO VARGAS - IF ANTONIO JIMENEZ - 2B  DAIVERSON GUTIERREZ - C I announced on my "X" account the Mets had the #1 ranked farm system back in April, well before ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel declaration in August, and ironically all the trolls who ridiculed my assessment have been surprisingly quiet.The evidence is pretty clear that many of our prospects have performed well enough to warrant consideration for Top 100 Prospect Rankings, but they simply won't be given the attention they deserve by mainstream prospect sites. It took Jonah Tong to come within 1 out of pitching a perfect game to crack a Top 100 list. It took Nolan Mclean and Tong months of dominating at AA & AAA this year to finally be listed among MLB's current Top 100 Prospect Ranks. "Prospect experts" quickly changed their opinions of both pitchers having "significant reliever risk", to quickly highlighting their potential as potential frontline starting pitchers. There are several prospects moving thru the minors who could follow a similar trajectory.

Regardless of what their current ranking is or whether they can keep the same ranking, our farm system has a chance to improve even further if the Mets are able to get lucky in the upcoming draft lottery. The Mets have the depth both in the upper levels and lower levels of the minor leagues to pursue high-upside players via the trade market. There is more than enough firepower at the lower levels to facilitate the Mets maintaining that ranking for the 2026 season, despite our recent graduates.

Exciting times ahead Mets fans despite how the 2025 season ended…

SAVAGE VIEWS – NOW WHAT?

Prior to this season, I indicated that I was uncertain about the Mets prospects for 2025, unlike last season when I predicted that we would not only make the playoffs but do well. Now that this season is history, I’d like to share my observations for the immediate future. First,

RIP DAVEY JOHNSON

Over the course of their 64-year history, the Mets have had only three top rated managers: Gil Hodges, Davey Johnson and Bobby Valentine. All shared similar traits. They were extremely knowledgeable baseball men, strong leaders and no-nonsense types. Each of them would do whatever was necessary to win. I loved the take no prisoners style of Johnson.

LOOKING AT 2026

There’s been a lot of speculation that many changes are in store for 2026. However, the reality is that next year’s starting 9 will not look all that different than this year. The upshot is that Syracuse is slated to have a dynamic team.

NY Mets 2026 Syracuse Mets 2026 POS POS 1st Pete Alonso 1st Ryan Clifford 2nd TBD 2nd AJ Ewing SS Franisco Lindor SS LuisAngel Acuna 3B Brett Baty 3B Jacob Reimer LF Brandon Nimmo LF Jett Williams CF TBD CF Carson Benge RF Juan Soto RF Nick Morabito C Franisco Alvarez C Kevin Parada DH Mark Vientos DH Ronny Mauricio SP 1 Nolan McLean SP1 Josh Tong S 2 Branden Sproat SP2 Christian Scott SP 3 David Peterson SP3 Jack Wenninger SP 4 Kodai Senga SP4 Jonathan Santucci SP 5 Sean Manaea SP5 Will Watson SP 6 Clay Holmes SP6 Zack Thornton

My assumption is that Alonso will sign a three-year contract to remain with the team. Benge and Williams will most likely start the year in Syracuse with a possible mid-season call up. Tong and Scott may also join the rotation by June. The wealth of talent at the upper levels of the farm system should present an opportunity to package multiple high-end prospects for an elite SP to join the rotation. It will be interesting to see what the pen will look like next year. We can only speculate,

The major significant changes likely for 2026 is the revamping of the coaching staff. I hope they decide to extend a contract to Jeremy Heffner. It’s already been confirmed that Carlos Mendoza will return. This scares me. He continues to be clueless in managing a pitching staff. One of the dumbest things I have ever witnessed is having Torrens pitch the ninth inning with a 14-run lead. And his bullen game Sunday when a win would have gotten the Mets into the playoffs defies description. I don’t believe Mendoza has baseball smarts and has not shown the capacity for growth. A lackluster start to the 2026 season should result in him being relieved of his duties.

Some concerns have been made about how to make up for the loss in production if Alonso does leave. Expect increased production from Alvarez and Baty to make up most of the difference.

Next year is shaping up to be tough. The Braves will be back, the Marlins are feisty, the Nats keep improving and the Phillies have the best overall talent. Next year will be the year that the foundation for a solid pitching staff  will be set with graduates from Syracuse setting the stage for 2027.

Ray

September 30, 2025

MACK - MY WEDNESDAY OBSERVATIONS - My First Stab At The 2026 Roster

 

So, that’s finally over. A piss poor effort to save a piss poor season. Where this team going now is far above my pay grade, but I willing to share my thoughts on what I THINK they should do going forward.

1.     First, establish the core. My guess is that would include Lindor, Vientos, Baty, Alvarez, Soto, Nimmo, McLean, Tong, and Sproat. That’s nine players. Not 26. 

2.     Determine what players who are still under contract will be part of the 2026 team. My picks would be McNeil, Senga, Holmes, and Minter. All four of these are talented baseball players and are perfect bridge players to 2027. Holmes would be back in my rotation. Senga would be until Scott returned. We’re now up to 13 players, not counting Scott. 

(let me say this before we continue… there really is only one starter on this team that warrants a locked position. Nolan McLean. Everybody else wearing a Mets uniform could easily go into the 2026 tank. I’m not predicting this but, if the Mets don’t reach out and either sign or trade for, AT LEAST ONE ribeye starter, 2026 may just look just like 2025) 

3.     I would exercise my club option on Raley (14). 

4.     Torrens would remain my backup catcher (15). 

5.     I would exercise my club option on reliever Drew Smith (16). 

6.     I would add reliever Dylan Ross to my 26 (17). 

17 members of my 26 is as far as I can go right now. 

I would invite to camp Brazoban and Kranick, but I would reserve a final decision on all three pending what develops in the off season. Garrett would have gotten at least an invite, but he’s now lost for the season. 

I would open up with a AAA-Syracuse that included Wennniger, Pintaro, Watson, and Gordon, but I just don’t see the potential for a future ace here. So, I would make a serious effort to get the Pirates to trade Paul Skenes to me. My package would be big… Jett Williams, Nick Morabito, Ronny Mauricio, Jacob Reimer, and Chris Suero. Look, the Pirates have picked early in the draft for many years and have a shitload of starter prospects either on their current team or maxed out at AAA. Bubba Chandler, Mitch Keller, Thomas Harrington, Braxton Ashcraft, Hunter Barco… a low rung team can easily survive with these guys. What the Pirates need is some more team-controlled bat prospects. The Mets have these bats. 

This deal would allow me to keep my future starting catcher (Yovanny Rodriguez), my top two pitching prospects (Jack Wenninger, Will Watson), my next reliever to graduate (Ryan Lambert), my future DH or 1Bman (Ryan Clifford), and my top two outfield prospects (Carson Benge, AJ Ewing). All future starters. 

Obviously, if Skenes joined this rotation, he would be my SP1 followed by McLean as SP2, followed by Sproat and Tong. Holmes would probably be in my OD rotation, but he would be on a short lease. 

I would then turn my attention to trying to bring back Pete Alonso, Edwin Diaz, Ryan Helsley, and Tyler Rogers. 

Then, I would take the rest of the day off. 

Reese Kaplan -- If the Polar Bear Leaves Then Who's Available?

Instead of looking back on what went wrong, let’s consider what needs to be done to prepare for the upcoming 2026 season given the personnel changes that will be taking place on the roster.  First and foremost is the opt out already planned for execution by Pete Alonso.  Given his experience last season when no one was beating down a door to get the opportunity to sign him, he reluctantly signed a pay-up-front two year deal with the opt out clause to ensure a proper payday before once again seeking to secure his long term financial future.

Going back to the 2024 season, Alonso was playing somewhat from a position of at best moderate strength.  He’d finished the 2023 season with some pretty monster numbers — 46 HRs and 118 RBIs though his batting average was paltry .217.  Then came his free agent “prove it” year in 2024 when things took a turn for the less impressive.  Yes, the batting average rose to a modest .240 but the run production numbers slid down to 34 HRs and 88 RBIs.  Opposing teams were probably thinking he was more Dave Kingman than Freddie Freeman.

With few interested parties looking to pony up long term and lucrative commitments, Alonso found himself back in Queens to enjoy Steve Cohen’s largess in this oddly shaped contract.  For 2025 he was paid $30 million but standing pat would see him lose $6 million for a 2026 salary of just $24 million.  Opting out was always the plan and after what he did in 2025 it was underscored with indelible paint.

Take a look at the 2025 numbers and you will see that Alonso had one of his best ever seasons which led to his 5th time as a National League All Star.  He finished with a very nice .270 batting average.  The homers went up slightly to 38 while the RBIs jumped to 126 despite no longer serving as the team’s cleanup hitter.  Obviously he proved what he’s capable of doing and it makes sense for him to test the market once again.

Obviously the Mets will make a concerted effort to be a player in the Alonso sweepstakes but they simultaneously must be considering what to do if he indeed finds greener pastures paved with greenbacks for another team.  What would Steve Cohen and David Stearns then do?

Well, the only good news in this scenario would be some financial flexibility as it’s conceivable he’ll be after a salary of around that same $30 million he was paid by the Mets in 2025 but for a longer period of time.  As a healthy player in his early 30s, it’s conceivable he’ll be seeking something in the 5-6 year range meaning a commitment of $150 to $180 million.  It’s a fair price given today’s salary patterns but with Juan Soto, Francisco Lindor, Brandon Nimmo and others receiving hefty paychecks, it might be time for the Mets to rearrange a bit how their payroll dollars are spent.  Towards that end the club needs to look at who might be out there to take over at first base while not necessarily being a swing-for-swing replacement for Pete Alonso. 

Internal Options

Mark Vientos did not reflect his surprising success of 2024 during this past season.  He remained defensively challenged and while sliding him across the diamond to assume first base duties is inexpensive and convenient, is he a .240 hitting 20 HR guy or can he be more?

Ryan Clifford is a left handed hitting slugger who combined between Binghamton and Syracuse for a 2025 season with 29 HRs and 93 RBIs.  Those were the good numbers.  The .237 minor league batting average was not.  He’s a credible piece as trade bait but not likely ready to take over at first base for the Mets.

Free Agent

Josh Naylor is almost the only option worth considering and he provides a very different look at what to expect from your first baseman.  At just 28 years of age, he’s younger than Alonso and is finishing 2025 making under $11 million.  For that he provided a .295 batting average, 20 HRs and 30 SBs.  That’s a very interesting combo for someone who won’t cost a huge fortune and could be expected to be a Met for a very long time.

Trade

Yandy Diaz is another interesting player who the Rays are likely to entertain as a trade option.  Already at age 33 he’s not going to be more than a 2-3 year solution but his numbers are interesting.  This current season he hit .300 with 25 HRs and 83 RBIs while earning $10 million.  He has a $12 million salary on tap for 2026 and while it would take player resources going down to Tampa to obtain him, the commitment is for a short term.

Personally I would find signing Naylor the most appealing option here.  Even if he obtained a 70% increase in pay he would cost more than 1/3 less than Pete Alonso while adding another speedster to the lineup.  He wouldn’t require any minor leaguers going back in trade.

Brooklyn Cyclones 2025 Recap: Interview with Cyclones Announcer Justin Rocke

  

Justin Rocke and Johnny Gadamowitz, Brooklyn Cyclones Broadcasters 

The Mets not only have one of the best farm systems in Baseball, they have some of the best minor league announcers.  The Minor League Games on the MiLB Website or App are filled with player information you can't get anywhere else.

On Sunday September 14th, before the Brooklyn Cyclones played Game 1 of the South Atlantic League Championship Series against the Hub City Spartanburgers, I had the privilege of talking to Cyclones Broadcaster Justin Rocke about the 2025 Brooklyn season and some of the promising prospects that he saw.  

John From Albany: Justin, with just a few games left, what are your impression of this year's Brooklyn Team?

Justin Rocke: The biggest thing about this group has been their resiliency throughout the course of the year. I mean, there have been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of roster changing, particularly between the first half. This team that's in the playoffs, you look at the lineup for Game One of this Championship series, and only one, two, three guys in the starting nine were really part of that roster, and Diego Mosquera missed the last month of the first half because of an injury. They have found a way to get things done even when the cards have been stacked against them. They've played with good energy, they've always found a way to bounce back.

One of the more impressive things about this group is this might be the best team I've worked with in my years of minor league baseball in terms of their ability to put what happened the day before behind them and start fresh the next day. They've been very good at just being able to leave what happened in the past in the past and push on to the next thing, which I think is not only just important as a pro athlete, but especially being a pro athlete in New York.

JFA: How big a factor do you think Gilbert Gomez has been in that? 

Justin Rocke: Tremendous. He's won championships in Florida, he's won championships in the Dominican. The coaching staff has done a phenomenal job all year long.

The players really take after Gomez well. Bryan Muniz has done a great job as the hitting coach. Jordan Kraus has done a phenomenal job with the pitching staff this year.

The coaching staff has done a great job of keeping guys focused, but also having a little levity and fun.

JFA: We've seen a lot of good pitchers come up to the major leagues from the Mets minors recently. Is there anybody that you were impressed with, pitching-wise, that you thought could be the next guy that we could see in Flushing? 

Justin Rocke: I mean, it's been really impressive what they've done over the last couple of years with the pitching lab down there. The amount of guys they've churned out, I mean, ERA-wise, I think our pitching staff is top ten in minor league baseball for the entire season.

But, you know, they're seeing a lot of guys move on up from here this season. I mean, I'm shocked that Brendan Girton hasn't become a top 30 prospect in the organization yet with the season he's had. 

Bursting onto the scene, Will Watson was phenomenal for us coming up at the tail end of the first half. I mean, his third high-A start was the clinching game of the first half. Was able to, you know, didn't have his best stuff, but was able to battle through it and give, you know, four-plus innings of shutout ball and help, you know, set the tone for what was to come the rest of the night. 

Obviously, Jonathan Santucci got off to a slow start this season, but got out of the bases loaded jam about mid-May, early in the game against Winston-Salem, and from that point forward he just sort of took off and has obviously finished the season incredibly strong up in Binghamton.

R.J. Gordon's had a tremendous breakout season. I don't know what people were expecting from him, but he's had an incredible campaign. Zach Thornton, before he got hurt, was obviously the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month for April and was absolutely phenomenal.

Noah Hall's had a great bounce-back season from injury. 

I'd be interested to see what happens going into next year with Joel Diaz. You know, this is really his first full year back off of Tommy John surgery, first full year of health. You know, second season back and second year back from a major surgery like that is usually the year that things start to normalize and return back to where things were pre-injury. 

Click Here for more of the Interview.