MACK - MORE MINOR TIDBITS

 

Jack Wenninger was abused last night and now joins Jonah Tong as two former “next up” AAA starters. Neither are now ready to face the real guys that play this game. So where does that leave the future 2022 rotation? Let’s start with the contracts… Sean Manaea ($22,009,000) and Kodai Senga ($15,000,000). 

Then, you add the team-controlled guys… Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Zac Thornton… all of which have, at least, three more years with this team… let’s pretend they all stay healthy. You happy with this rotation? I’m sure as hell isn’t. There are more talented minor league starters, but none are in position to be ready to be in the Flushing opening day roster… work is needed here, folks…

Billy Amick came to the Mets with 23 2026 AA home runs this season. In the 14 minutes he’s been owned by the Mets, he has three more. That’s now 26… 

Paul?...

Ya know, everybody keeps telling me not to worry about Elian Pena’s defense (or, lack of it). That everybody down there makes a ton of them at that age. Well, he had another throwing error last night, that came off two more the night before. Yes, one of those two were reversed, but still… this is 23 errors so far this season. I don’t know where that ranks. The DSL people don’t release this info. What I do know is this has to improve greatly over the next three of four seasons… 

Nick Lorusso was promoted to AAA-Syracuse this week. I never had him in my now departed Friday Prospect Report, because he just didn’t produce at the AA-level that warranted him being included. 

He was, however, heading in the right direction, which probably landed him that promotion (it’s not that the Mets are desperate for a bat producing first baseman…). 

Well, last night for Syracuse he went: 3-4, 2-R HR, RBI and raised his AAA bating average to.364. Will it hold? Is it good enough to make this column? Whatayathing?...

 

AA-Binghamton’s SP Gary Gill Hill debuted last night and impressed everyone in the stadium, going 5.0-IP, 3-H, 0-R, 2-BB, 4-K, 0.00. I never react to newbie starters until after their first three starts, but I though it was worthy to mention a positive outing by a new pitcher, in a sea of positive hitting by the new bats…

 

Holy Shite! 214-year old Calvin Ziegler had a tremendous extended outing… ONE inning, no runs given up, no hits allowed, no walks thrown, and every batter faced struck out. His ERA has now been reduced to a microscopic 23.14… do they have CY Young awards in the minors?...

Reese Kaplan -- Looking at the 2027 Mets Roster Needs

There’s been a few days now for people to understand the great selloff and now it’s time to reassess not the remainder of 2026 but what changes will take place in 2027. 

There is no first base solution present.  Jorge Polanco maybe should be the daily DH to put less stress on his aging and oft-injured body.  No one wanted him at mid year and the Mets are on the hook for another season.  If he indeed becomes the DH, then the only candidates are Jared Young, Brett Baty, Mark Vientos and Ryan Clifford.  None of them seem sufficient for a contending team.

There is no second base solution either.  No one is going to fault Marcus Semien for his professionalism but the offensive results simply are not there.  He’s playing like a bench player, not a $26 million starter.  Right now he’s hitting just .210.  Unless you’re semi-serious about converting A.J. Ewing into a full time second base role, your options here are limited to Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio.

We will assume for the moment that despite the rumor mill agog with conjectures about the rift between Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto as well as the Mets’ need to free up payroll, once again the team is facing a no-option situation here with the lead gloved Bo Bichette, Ronny Mauricio and various AA/AAA options not yet ready for daily play. 

Third base likely still belongs to Bo Bichette as his 2026 numbers are insufficient to market himself for a higher rate of pay elsewhere.  He could theoretically get a longer contract but it would probably be more like the rate being paid to Lindor if he fled for another club.  Consequently plan for him to be at the hot corner and to be paid well above $40 million for whatever he provides. 

The outfield right now is the only area that appears fairly set.  You have Juan Soto and Carson Benge for sure.  Luis Robert was not traded away and it’s entirely possible the Mets may eat the buyout and let him go, handing center field duties to A.J. Ewing for near minimum wage. 

Catching is also fairly solid between starter Francisco Alvarez and backup Luis Torrens.  Assuming the Mets make the efforts to keep them both around then nothing else needs to be done while minor league options work their way up the ladder for future use. 

Starting pitching is very much up in the air.  For now you would figure Nolan McLean, Christian Scott and Zac Thornton are pretty much guaranteed to be three of the five starters.  Sean Manaea was not moved at the trade deadline and with his final $25 million year on the 2027 payroll he’s likely going to be a fourth starter.  Who becomes the fifth starter is very much up in the air.  With Freddy Peralta gone and Clay Holmes gone the club is thin here.  Robert Stock had one very good start and will get more time during 2026 but he’s likely not a long term solution.  There are several free agents and trade candidates who could be obtained to add a veteran solid starter to the mix.

The bullpen is a complete mess.  Devin Williams is still here though no one trusts him to perform like a closer.  Kodai Senga has been told he’s going to be converted to a short late inning reliever substituting for others like Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter and Huascar Brazoban who are no longer here.  After that’s it’s a wide open guessing game. Dedniel Nunez is back but after that no one else on the current staff is guaranteed to be here in 2027. 

There are surely going to be a lot of new faces when the 2027 season begins. 

MACK - THOUGHTS ON TRADE DEADLINE & OTHER TIDBITS

 

 I don’t write for Mack’s Mets anymore. I retired from that. Instead, I have been producing a bunch of bio and analytical shite. But that changes today.

Instead, I return as a sportswriter, specifically covering the New York Mets. 

My weekly Friday column will reflect that going forward,

One of the things I used to do around here was to give you my spin/rating on the results of the trading deadline. I’m not going to go into an elaborate breakdown… other Mack’s Mets writers are doing a fine job on that. Instead, just a general overview.

I’ve already mentioned that, I believe, the Mets accomplished three things from the results of the trading deadline… one, they cleaned out the majority of bad money contracts that had no future offerings to this team past the 2027 season, two, they found a close to ready major league third baseman, and three, they added prospect depth to their chain, especially in the infield. 

Past that, it’s all speculation, especially because we all know the nerds are going to try and change everything these players have done once they put a Mets uniform on.

What they didn’t accomplish was to get a Top 50 Prospect, as defined by Baseball Pipeline, nor did they find takers for the likes of Marcus Semien, Jorge Polanco, Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Luis Robert Jr., five players they must now decide if they keep playing and remind both fans and the baseball world what stupid decisions it was to employ these duds, or give them a payout before the calendar year end so they have a clean slate the following year regarding team salary.

Me?

I love 3B Jefferson Rojas. He will be the starting Mets third baseman, latest, opening day 2028. I “ like” IF Sammy Stafura, Cole Mathis, Emilien Pitre, Billy Amick, and Aiden Smith. 

The rest? AAAA or steak knives. I especially like the return of infield depth in the chain. It’s no big secret that the future Mets are in need of both a producing third and second baseman. This year’s trade haul make a crowded positive situation on both bags.

I believe Rojas will be a star in this game and Mitch Voit will be a Benge/Ewing type player at second. Mathis and Amick will compete with Randy Guzman as the future Mets first baseman, that is, if Juan Soto doesn't agree to make the move here some day…I believe Stafura and Pitre will give Voit a run for his money at second… and I believe Rojas is heir apparent to third. Short? It’s Lindor’s until either Elian Pena or Wandy Asigen grows up.

Rating – B minus

 

Minor Tidbit 

AA/Binghamton’s RP, Bryce Jenkins, is the definition of helium. He is barely recognized by the Mets gaggle and only bloggers like Daniel Wexler (@WexlerRules),  and podcasters like Ernest Dove  (@ernestdove), write anything about this guy. Through Tuesday’s game, Jenkins has a combines AA/AAA ERA of 1.94, and a WHIP of 0.79… it seems that A+ Brooklyn SP Nicholas Carreno is getting his shite straighten out at this level. He dominated A-ball, failed miserable early at Coney. This week he went 5.2-IP, 0-H, 0-R, 8-K. Still needs to work on pitch count and control (5-BB this outing)… 

No one is hotter than AA-Binghamton IF Mitch Voit. He put modest numbers up for Brooklyn (.242) but I knew his numbers would grow once he left horrible Coney Island. But I never expected, through Tuesday night, an AA batting average of .539 and an OPS of 1.574!... once again, the nerds win. 

AAA-Syracuse SP, Jonah Tong, was supposed to be promoted by this weekend and Wednesday's start at Cuse' was the final test for the entirely new delivery the executives that never pitched a lick in their life gave this once star for this team. Their changes are like taking the entire engine out of a Shelby SS and installing the engine a Volkswagen Beetle uses. 

The result? Five home runs allowed in five innings. When are these guys ever going to stop this? SMH. The Breakdown of Tong... or, as Tom Brennan puts it... if it ain't broke, don't break it... A-St. Lucie SS Elian Pena committed another throwing error on Wednesday.  That's now 22 errors on the season.  A big reason why I feel Wandy Asigen will jump over him when down the road the B-Mets need a new shortstop.

GOO – (general overall opinions)

I used to be a newspaper reporter. That went away when they closed down that newspaper. It then became a blogger covering the New York Mets. The emphasis was on the minors. Mack’s Mets is now both the most read independent Mets blog, but it also is the longest running. 

My elimination of my weekly Friday Prospect Report came off of the elimination of a professional relationship with a high-ranking Mets insider. It spoke volumes to me about the degree of importance I am to the Mets. It makes my future direction is as a hobbyist who will write how I feel, and what I believe, not anyone else’s opinons.

I became a Mets fan in 1962, followed by a Mets reporter in 2005. I’m now simply a Mets blogger who writes in third person because I no longer root for this team. I still write about it and started a blog for other writers who are fans of this team. I take the Walter Cronkite approach… the team, and what they do is always “they”.

I lost my fandom when I realized the return is minimal. I thought this failure peaked near the end of the Wilpon era, but I was wrong. 

The Cohen train still hasn’t left the station.

MACK’S 2028 STARTING LINEUP:

C     Francisco Alvarez

1B   Juan Soto

2B   Mitch Voit

SS   Francisco Lindor

3B   Jefferson Rojas

LF   Carson Benge

CF   Aiden Robbins

RF   AJ Ewing

DH  Chris Suero

SP1  Tariq Skubal

SP2  Nolan McLean

SP3  Christian Scott

SP4  Jonah Tong

SP5  Zac Thornton

MACK - HOT BATS - JOHN BAY, COREY COLLINS, TRACE WILLHOITE

 

MACK – Hot Bats –

 

Thanks to John From Albany for supplying the stats.

 

PERIOD:  7/16 – 7/25

 

John Bay/A+ Brooklyn - .455/.500/.818/1.318 – 1-RBI, 5-H

 

John Bay is a right-handed hitting and throwing outfielder (primarily right field/center) in the New York Mets organization. He is currently in the minor leagues (as of mid-2026).

Born: May 16, 2001 (age 25)

Hometown: Shattuck, Oklahoma

Height/Weight: 6'1", 217 lbs

Bats/Throws: R/R

Bay played at Oklahoma State (limited action, redshirted) before transferring to Austin Peay State University. He had strong seasons there:

In 2024, he hit .365 with 24 HR and 72 RBI.

In 2025 (his senior year), he batted .360 (5th in ASUN conference), led the league with 22 HR, scored a nation-leading 94 runs, and posted a .507 OBP / .769 SLG with strong All-America and All-Conference honors.

He also performed well in the Cape Cod League.

Undrafted in 2025, he signed as a nondrafted free agent with the Mets in July 2025.

He quickly stood out, earning praise for having one of the best pro debuts in the Mets system per Baseball America.

2025 (St. Lucie A and Brooklyn A+): Strong debut with a .253/.417/.458 slash line, 4 HR, good walk rates, and helped Brooklyn win a championship. He excelled initially at St. Lucie (.333 AVG, 1.057 OPS in 17 games).

He also participated in the Arizona Fall League (Scottsdale Scorpions) in 2025.

Bay is a toolsy, athletic outfielder with power, speed, and plate discipline who rose quickly after going undrafted. He’s viewed as an intriguing prospect for the Mets.

 

Corey Collins/AA-Binghamton - .400/.500/.700/1.200 – HR, 4-RBI, 4-H

Corey Collins (full name: Corey Joseph Collins) is a 24-year-old first baseman in the New York Mets organization.

Born: October 10, 2001 (Coatesville, PA); raised in Suwanee, GA.

6'3", 236 lbs; bats left, throws right.

He starred at North Gwinnett High School (set a school record with 26 HRs) and played college baseball at the University of Georgia (Georgia Bulldogs).

In his senior year (2024), he had a breakout season: .354/.574/.772 with 20 HRs, 58 RBI, and led NCAA in on-base percentage (.574).

He earned Second Team All-American honors (Baseball America) and was the Mets' 6th-round pick (173rd overall) in the 2024 MLB Draft. He signed for around $272,500–$275,000.

Collins is a power-hitting first baseman with strong plate discipline, though he has struggled with strikeouts at times in pro ball. He is primarily limited to 1B defensively.

2026 highlights: Strong showing at Double-A Binghamton

He has dealt with some injuries (e.g., IL stints in 2025) but has progressed steadily through the lower minors. As of early August 2026, he was performing well at AA, including multi-hit games and cleanup spot appearances.

Collins profiles as a power bat with patience (high walk rates in college and pro ball) and fly-ball tendencies. His main challenges are consistent contact against better pitching and proving he can handle advanced levels long-term. He is not yet on the 40-man roster and remains a prospect to watch in the Mets system, especially for his offensive upside at first base.

 

PERIOD:  7/18 – 7/27

 

Trace Willhoite/A+ Brooklyn - .385/.467/.769, 1.236 – 1-HR, 4-RBI, 5-H

 

Trace Willhoite (full name: Trace Terry Scott Willhoite) is a 25-year-old minor league infielder (primarily third base and first base) in the New York Mets organization.

Born: November 17, 2000 (Georgetown, Kentucky)

Height/Weight: 6'3", 200 lbs

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

College: Lipscomb University (where he set the program's all-time home run record)

Willhoite went undrafted after a strong college career at Lipscomb.

In 2024, he played in the MLB Draft League and led it in home runs.

He quickly earned playing time and became one of the organization's more surprising success stories that year.

2025 Season (Breakout Year)Primarily with Single-A St. Lucie Mets (Florida State League): .265/.382/.470 with 14 HR, 66 RBI, 14 SB in 85 games. He led the FSL in homers and RBI at the time of his promotion.

Willhoite is a power-oriented right-handed hitter with good size and athleticism for his position. He has shown the ability to drive the ball (especially in the air to his pull side) and has surprising speed for his frame (evidenced by the stolen bases in 2025). Defensively, he has experience at first base, third base, and even some shortstop in college.

Tom Brennan - Post-Trade Deadline Mets Thoughts

 

“Don’t ever stop thinking and questioning…”

 

FIRST, THE UNTRADED?

Jorge Polanco? He likely got rushed back in his semi-impaired physical state, to see if they could get him to show that he was fairly healthy and producing and, hence, tradable.

In July, through Aust 1, however, he was an incomprehensible 4 for 51 (a double and 3 singles), and 3 walks. 

Not tradable, obviously. Not even the Savannah Bananas would want him.

Especially since he is owed the proportional remainder of his $20 million salary this year - and $20 million for next year, too. 

Me? I’d tell him, we are shutting you down to get you healthier for 2027. 

Call Mauricio back up.

Luis Roberts? They would have had to eat too much salary to move him.

Next:

THE TRADES?

The Mets cut payroll. A lot,

Freddy Peralta (Rays), AJ Minter (Twins), Huascar Brazoban (White Sox), Holmes and Taylor (Cubs), Weaver (Pittsburgh) out. 

Quantity in.

For Minter, the Mets got IF Bruin Agbayani’s and OF Billy Amick.

For Peralta, the Mets got OF Aidan Smith, RHP Gary Gill Hill and 2B Émilien Pitre, Tampa Bay's 15th, 26th- and 27th-ranked prospects.

For Brazoban, Chicago sent AA RHP #18 Gabe Davis (22) and “out of top 30” AAA RHP Zach Franklin (27) to the Mets. 

Etc.

The Mets’ Prospect Top 30 has NINE NEW PROSPECTS, including # 1 Jefferson Rojas and # 11 Sammy Stafura.

I won’t analyze the players acquired here. I say... Let them prove (or disprove) themselves. A few of the hitters clearly should make it, and hopefully be better than the likes of Baty and Vientos. Rojas and Stafura, Agbayani and Pitre, I like for their high impact hitting and low whiff rates. If players have high whiff rates, they are Fool’s Gold almost every time, so watch for that.

So far…they are hitting well.  Keep on ROCKING.

Pitchers?. They almost always make it, but for many, it is no more than a MLB cameo to temporarily fill in, and nothing more. The Mets picked up 5 prospect righty pitchers, none that look like “WOW” stuff.

QUANTITY VS. QUALITY?

Do you remember when the Mets traded Tom Seaver to the Mets and got quantity in return?  Bad deal. I suspect that giving up quality to get quantity almost never benefits you. It may improve your minor league teams. But the real purpose, to acquire future QUALITY Major League players, usually does not work out well in Metsville.

Maybe this time will be different, by 2028. I am optimistic. I get into it a bit on Sunday, as far as revised Top 30 prospects as the list has been heavily and rightfully revamped. Think “UPGRADE”.

Next:

CALL UP’S?

You’ve dealt Freddy Falter. Would you then promote a starter who, in his last 2 AAA starts, allowed 1 run and 6 hits in 10 innings, and fanned 16? I would. 

His name? Jonah Tong. Then, he got murdered in a mid week start. He gave up 5 HRs in 5 innings. He gave up just 3 homers in 5 months in the minors last year. More about that on Sunday, too.

Including the early David Peterson trade, the Mets dealt way SEVEN PITCHERS! Wow! It sure seems the pitching’s major gut job will lead to more losses than otherwise in 2026.

POSITIONING?

Besides salary reductions from trade-aways, there is close to a 1:1 additional savings in luxury taxes. It adds up. And, of course, an increased chance of getting a highly valuable top 6 draft pick.

OK, now let’s get that # 1 overall pick and turn the calendar back to 1984-86.

BOBBY OJEDA KNOWS B.O. WHEN HE SMELLS IT. SO DO WE.

From the NY Post:

“I try not to even think about it because it’s so frustrating,” Ojeda told SNY. “I really think it’s on Stearns. 

“He built this thing and I don’t think he believes in intangibles, which I believe are so important to a winning ball-club. 

“I don’t feel like he’s taken enough accountability either. 

“See, you got me talking about this and now I’m sweating…

…because it makes me mad.“

US?  WE CAN SMELL THE B.O., TOO.  WE ARE MAD, TOO.

Meanwhile, the Yankees needed a hitter, so they went out and got Luis Garcia from the Washington Nationals. He was only leading the NL in slugging percentage at .560.  

The Yanks do NOT fool around.

After the deal, their ace pitcher Gerrit Cole said (NY Post), about his team:

“It’s one of the blessings about playing for the Yankees. 

“The organization is always pushing forward and doing their best to improve the team whenever they get the opportunity to. 

“So as a Yankee player, it’s a beautiful position to be in because you can trust what the organization has done over the years.” 

Which led me to think: 

Do any of the Mets’ core players trust the Mets organization?

As a former Brooklyn Nets fan, I saw first a Russian billionaire owner and then a subsequent Chinese billionaire owner try to buy a championship by acquiring aging star talent for innumerable future draft picks. It failed miserably both times. I had little trust, leading to becoming a FORMER fan. The Knicks, like the Yanks, are successful and more fun to follow.

Stop doing this old age home crap with the Mets. Grow organically.

The Mets’ prospect bin is heavily loaded with hitters now, but still light on pitchers.

Paul Articulates - Spotlight on AA

The New York Mets achieved their goal at the trade deadline by trading away established, higher paid veterans for controllable minor league talent.  You can assess the value of the trades in many ways, and I am sure it will be debated for the rest of the season.

Regardless of how everyone feels about the trades, they are done.  The Mets have brought in a substantial haul of young talent that has now been distributed throughout their development system to grow and be evaluated.

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies, AA affiliate of the New York Mets, has gained a large share of that new talent on its roster.  Those newcomers include:

• Jefferson Rojas, the new #1 prospect in the Mets' system.  Rojas is an infielder who was acquired in the Cubs trade for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor.
• Emilien Pitre, an infielder from the Rays organization that was part of the Peralta trade. Pitre is the #17 prospect in the new rankings.
• Gary Gill Hill, a pitcher who was also acquired in the Peralta trade.  Hill is now the #19 prospect.
• Gabe Davis, a pitcher who was acquired from the White Sox in the Brazoban deal.  Davis is now ranked #20.
• Billy Amick, an infielder acquired from the Twins in the AJ Minter deal.  Amick is not rated in the top 30 prospects but comes to the team on a power surge with 23 home runs in 86 games with AA Wichita.

The Rumble Ponies Roster already included several other internal prospects, including:

• Jacob Reimer, the #5 prospect who has just returned from the IL.
• Mitch Voit, the #6 prospect who was named Eastern League Player of the Week last week after his scalding hot AA debut.
• Chris Suero, the multi-talented many position player ranked #16

This team is now stacked with notable players, creating a competitive environment that should bring out the best in everyone.

I visited the stadium yesterday to see what this team looks like.  Here are my initial observations:

First of all, the team is heating up just as all the new prospects arrive.  They had struggled through the first half and into the second, but are now playing good ball on a three game winning streak including 6 of their last 10.  

RJ Gordon started the game tonight and appears to have figured something out.  He threw 6 innings of three-hit ball tonight, giving up one earned run and striking out ten.  In his last three outings, he has given up only 5 ER in 18 innings.  Gordon had a nice mix that kept hitters off-balance for a majority of the game.

Chris Suero proved to be one of the most versatile baseball players I have ever seen in professional baseball.  He has played several positions this season, but I must admit that I have never seen a catcher play center field.  He started there tonight and ran some balls down in the gaps to prove that this was not just a stunt.  The man can play wherever you put him.  He has to get his bat going again - has been in quite a slump recently and went 0-4 tonight.  I would love to see his power return.

John Bay is a name that few have heard of in this game of prospects, but I was very impressed with the way he tracked balls and effortlessly glided around left field.  He covered a lot of ground out there just like his predecessors in Binghamton last year - Benge, Ewing, and Morabito.  Bay is hitting .290 in 31 at-bats so far and added another hit tonight.

Carlos Guzman came in for an inning of relief.  He was mixing 94mph fastballs with 81mph changeups and a curveball that had a huge 12-6 break.  Not much contact made - two strikeouts and a lazy fly ball.

Emilien Petre looked smooth at second base and at the plate.  He stroked an opposite field hit in the left-center gap that looked like AJ Ewing swinging the bat.  Of all the new guys I saw tonight, he looked the best.

Billy Amick looks like he needs some work.  His big, weight-on-the-back-foot swing may lift some balls, but he does not appear to have the bat-to-ball skills to pull it off. His college stats would indicate that he is a better hitter, so he needs to get back to basics.  No need to chase Clifford's big red K record.

That's a wrap on last night's observations.  Stay tuned for more from the Ponies - this is going to be the team to watch in the Mets minor league system for the next couple of months.

Tom Brennan - So, I Looked at the Mets’ Top 30 Prospect List Last Friday an Had These Thoughts

The Amazins’ Must Love The Truly Amazing Mitch Voit 

METS BEAT CLEVELAND, 6-2. 3 homers, Manaea throwing 95.

Nate Lavender had a great debut.  Torrens crushed it!

Break them up!

The Mets’ top 30 list (linked below) had changed dramatically since pre-season, as I write this on Friday AM of the last day in July.

But since then,  it is already greatly updated again for new acquisitions.

METS WEBSITE TOP 30 LIST

With recent draft picks, and the many prospects currently coming in trades, like the trade for Benny Agbayani’s son, huge shifts to this TOP 30 have come. Jefferson Rojas is deservedly the new # 1, and Sammy Stafura of the booming power bat is # 11.

Roughly 10 or more new guys in, and 10 or more others removed, from the Top 30. You don’t see THAT every day.

Back to what was the pre-trades existing list: 

One prospect’s ranking, and one’s non-ranking, I just cannot understand - maybe you the reader can help me:

Player # 1 in the last two months in High A/AA was .305/.430/.485 with 0.95 Ks per game. Killing it.

Player # 2 in the last two months in AAA was .130/.250/.220, with 1.65 Ks per game. Gosh-awful.

Player #1, Corey Collins, is not even in the top 30. 

Player # 2, Ryan Clifford, is grossly overrated at 7th (now 8th, post-trades). (He was 3rd pre-season).

My advice?  

Have them switch places. 

Is Ryan Clifford really a top 30 prospect? 

Come on, be honest. This is a time for objective honesty.

The answer is No. Not really. 

He cannot even shine super dud Jarred Kelenic’s shoes.

He had 16 HRs in 406 plate appearances, this season. The other 390 PAs (96%) have collectively been dismal. 

A complete change in approach seems to be a strategy to consider.

Jake deGrom frankly was a better hitter. 

And had McLean just hit, and not pitched so well, Nolan McLean would be a better hitter by now, too. 

McLean hit .185/.281/.432 in 2025, despite facing much better pitchers than he was ready for at the time, because his superior pitching shot him up the chain. 

McLean was hitting against HIGH A and AA pitching in his first real pro season, which no prospect hitter does besides Benge and Voit.

If McLean had started out hitting in St Lucie in that first year, with a late season bump to High A, instead, his slash line would probably have been 50 points higher, at .235/.331/.482. 

And he’d have been ranked in the Mets’ top 20. As a hitter.

I’ll remind people that in college, he hit a 472 ft. HR. To the opposite field.

Or 1B/3B Nick Lorusso could switch places with Clifford. Lorusso, despite a slow April and May, has been hot the last 10 weeks, and now has 20 HRs and 57 RBIs in 317 at bats, and just got bumped to AAA, where he homered.

Moving on:

Zac Thornton, who everyone now 💕LOVES💕, was still ranked 6th. 

Two less-loved hurlers, Jonah Tong Terrific and Jonathan Superb Santucci, however, were ranked higher, # 1 and # 2. 

Love Zac all you want, but love those guys, too. I still think both are great.

Maybe, just maybe, they will be better than Zac in the long run.

Eli Serrano was still ranked 13th, now down to 15th, despite hitting .193 in 54 Binghamton games when he was not injured. And a career .214 hitter in the minors.  Joe Biden saw that and said COME ON, MAN.

Why is he even in the top 30? 

Jack Reimer shouldn’t be 4th (now 5th after deadline deals), either. 

His 2025 season was strong, but his 2024 and 2026 seasons are both poor and injury-filled. The ability to stay healthy is not sufficiently considered, I imagine that Jorge Polanco might be thinking.

Honestly, how they have him ahead of Mitch Voit, I do not know. But, more on Voit later.

Two guys who have slipped badly since the pre-season top 30 are walk-one-per-inning Dylan Ross and Ryan Lambert, to # 29 and # 30. 

After new prospects acquired in trades are factored in, both dropped entirely out of the top 30. How disappointing. 

“They’d both be great if the strike zone was 50% larger, since that really helped me”, HOF Tom Glavine must be thinking.

Guys in the top 30 in late July I expected to drop out of it besides Ross and Lambert are Nathan Hall (24th), Antonio Jimenez (25th), Marco Vargas (29th), RJ Gordon (30th). And yes, all are OUT.

I thought Trey Snyder would push his way in. But he didn’t, at least yet, what with all of the newly acquired prospects. Trey is hitting .302, and .358 with RISP in 189 at bats after returning from injury.

Serrano IMHO should still be in the top 30, but as close to # 30 as humanly possible. OK, I’ll concede, top 35.

Thornton is about to graduate out for good, freeing up one slot.

I know I am a broken record here when I wish Clifford would join his buddy in KRIME, Colin Houck, outside the top 30. Both belong between # 40 and # 50 IMO due to prodigious levels of Ks. Before his fine last 3 games of July (6 for 12, with one K), Houck in July had gone 6 for 51 with 28 Ks. Amazing. But he was just put on the Development List after the trade deadline explosion. 

I’d immediately demote Houck to I Love Lucy Land, even though he’s been in Brooklyn for 137 games in 2025-26 (.203, 213 Ks) and tell him to cut his Ks in half, by any means possible. Or just cut him. 

He is now WAY DOWN on the team’s position player prospects listing. 

He’ll never make it. Sorry, but I am not the one fanning 40% of the time.

My last thoughts? 

Elian Peña is ranked 3rd, Mitch Voit 5th.  (Now 4th and 6th, post-trades).

Now THAT positioning should make for an interesting debate. 

Me? 

I think next February, they will both be ranked in the top 3. 

It is probable that Tong graduates out of the Top 30 due to innings before the end of 2025, as Will Thornton and perhaps Wenninger. Santucci possibly. Pintaro possibly. It will be a Top 30 Hitters’ Haven next spring, unless a bunch are traded away.

The new slugger Jefferson Rojas may prove to be better and stay at # 1.

You rank them. 

Which of these 3 prospects do you like better in the long run?

I do know that thru Sunday, Voit had gotten on base a million times in AA in his first 6 AA games, going .500/.593/.909. Then, in game 7, a single, 2 doubles, and a line out!

Strikeout rate excellent. Good power. Fast as the wind. Great fielder.

He is my NUMBER ONE. Right now. 

Keep THAT in mind when choosing between Rojas and the excellent Pena and Voit.

I will leave you with this:

For the first time, I am thinking that Mitch Voit could be on the Mets opening day roster in 2027. I think he is that good. His career has rocket thrusters.

And these Top 30 prospects are the deepest for the Mets in hitting that I have ever seen. 20 of the 30 are hitters.

Total team salary dropped…but I think is still the highest…

….and here is an angle you may not have considered:

If there is an extended MLB strike in 2027, non-40 man roster players CAN PLAY in the minors in 2027, closing the gap talent-wise between them and their Mets counterparts. If the strike lasts two months, those prospects are all two months closer to replacing high-cost veterans.

Reese Kaplan -- David Stearns Breaks Out the Broom to Clean House

With bated breath Mets fans, media types and baseball aficionados in general were awaiting what exactly would be the result of the great 2026 summer sell off which finally took place long after the club slipped into irrelevancy.

• The first move was one of those addition-by-subtraction transactions where the Mets sent David Peterson packing to the Chicago Cubs who apparently were desperately in need of a healthy if not particularly effective starting pitcher and the Mets received an injured power hitting prospect named Cole Mathis.  What is interesting in this deal is that he was the 13th ranked prospect for the Cubs and now the 14th ranked prospect for the Mets.  It suggests that the Mets farm system is not nearly as bad as feared.
• Then came the A.J. Minter to the Twins salary dump.  In return for the highly effective southpaw heading to Minneapolis, the Mets made a deal that gave the Mets some good fan-centric PR by bringing home Benny Agbayani’s son, Bruin, as part of a two prospect pricetag for the reliever.  The younger Agbayani is also injured and in his brief pro career is showing a .228 bat with no power.  Given that he’s 19 years old it’s kind of like throwing a dart to project where he’ll end up in terms of baseball skill.  The other guy coming back from the Twins is another uneven power hitter named Billy Amick.  Over 600 minor league ABs he’s clubbed 31 HRs and driven in 114 but while hitting just .253 and striking out 195 times.  It seems like another Ryan Clifford. If so, that’s not good.
• Late night this weekend the Mets finally dealt Freddy Peralta away.  The takers were the Tampa Bay Rays who have one of the better farm systems in baseball.  Three players came back, all of whom were in their top 100 but evaluators rank higher in the Mets’ less than stellar farm system.  Two of the three have some potential and ranking at better numbers underscores the paucity of talent in the Mets minors.  Number one is second baseman Emelien Pitre who hits well over .300 with excellent base running speed.  He’s 23 and at AA.  21 year old pitcher Gary Gill Hill has a career minor league ERA of 3.99 with 338 Ks in 394 IP.  His walk to strikeout ratio is not bad but a below .500 records suggests his ceiling could be just a back end starter.  The third domino was outfielder Aidan Smith is a career .246 hitting minor leaguer with excellent speed who hasn’t advanced above A ball.  He’s a wildcard at best.
• Another head scratcher comes from the dealing of solid reliever Huascar Brazoban to the Chicago White Sox for two very suspect prospect pitchers.  Brazoban hold a very impressive 2.56 ERA and makes almost no money, though his age of 36 somewhat counts against his long term future.  In return the Mets obtain AA right handed pitcher Gabe Davis who owns an 8.31 ERA (yikes!) as well as AAA pitcher Zach Franklin who is markedly better at 4.37 with 5 saves.  The 6’9” Davis does strike out better than one per inning pitched but the other numbers in college and during the minors are pretty ugly.  Franklin is already 27 years old but his underlying numbers show good WHIP and strikeout metrics with a career ERA of just 3.46.  Still, the return for Brazoban seems questionable at best.
• The second trade with the Cubs happened Monday when recovering starting pitcher Clay Holmes and reserve outfielder Tyrone Taylor were sent to Wrigley Field in exchange for the team’s number two prospect, infielder Jefferson Rojas.  Currently Rojas is working at the AA level where he’s hitting .270 with 15 HRs, 57 RBIs and 17 SBs.  This level of productivity suggests he could be a replacement at second base, shortstop or third base if more changes happen in the offseason. 
• In a somewhat surprising move, the Mets traded reliever Brooks Raley to the Phillies for a rather weak return of two non-prime prospects.  The first is very speedy outfielder John Spikerman whose minor league career average is just .232 with no power but is accompanied by a stunning 55 SBs in just 375 ABs. Apparently he could be the next Tyrone Taylor 4th outfielder.  Accompanying him is pitcher Luke Gabrysh who at age 23 is still toiling in A ball.  He’s a career 4.56 ERA hurler with mediocre WHIP numbers to accompany his lackluster ERA.  
• Another shocker was the Pittsburgh Pirates obtaining somewhat expensive setup reliever Luke Weaver from the Mets.  He’s having a terrific year and you’d expect the return to be high.  Well, in this case it seems to have happened just that way.  Infielder Sammy Stafura in A+ is having a wonderful year, hitting .301 with 19 HRs, 51 RBIs and 16 SBs over the course of just 47 games. 
• Finally there was a reserve catcher move returning Ben Rortvedt to the Dodgers for 27 year old relief pitcher Chayce McDermott who owns a career minor league ERA of 4.36.  The players involved are not expected to be impact players for either team. 

Still on the Mets after this housecleaning are center fielder Luis Robert, second baseman Marcus Semien, shortstop Francisco Lindor, third baseman Bo Bichette, utility man Brett Baty, catchers Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens as well as pitchers Sean Manaea and Kodai Senga.