ANGRY MIKE: PROSPECT REPORT: NICK MORABITO

 ANGRY MIKE 

Nick Morabito is a member of the stellar 2022 Draft class, a second round pick out of High School, Morabito to established himself as more of a complete hitter in 2025. I don’t care about his home run total, as much as I do about the fact Mets’ brass had him hitting third, and he’s a big reason why others in that lineup hitting before him and after him had career seasons. Morabito had solid RISP numbers and had a knack for being clutch, coming up with a big hit that helped put wins on the board pretty much all season. 

Morabito is one of my favorite prospects in the Mets system, he represents the type of player the Mets need and currently don’t have enough of. 

A. High-energy, hard-nosed grinder -> energizes teammates & fans.

B. Arguably one of the fastest players in MiLB, not just in the organization.

C. He’s got all 5 tools, but has currently only tapped into 4 of them.

D. OBP machine -> sprays hits all over the field & elite BB-rate

Morabito came up just short of his second consecutive 50 SB season, but he’s average 50+ SB over the last two seasons, only Jett Williams and Luisangel Acuna represent a greater SB threat. It’s pretty much automatic that if he’s on first base and his team needs him on 2nd, he’ll make it happen whether the defense expects him to run or not. That’s why he reminds me more of Acuna than he does Tyrone Taylor. Tyrone Taylor is an incredible athlete and one of the fastest players in the organization, but he doesn’t have the same level of confidence stealing bases as an Acuna or Morabito. It’s a rare talent and one that can always be useful late in games as we have seen when Acuna is inserted late into games on numerous occasions. 

Morabito has two things he has to develop if he wants to assert himself as a full-time player, he’s got to improve his numbers against left-handed pitchers and he has to find a way to translate his raw power into game power. He’s far too talented to waste away as reserve player, some components of his game are flat out electric, and his defensive versatility makes him in asset in the outfield.

Morabito absolutely rakes against RHP -> career MiLB numbers are quite impressive:

Career versus RHP: 893  AB  |  1,008  PA

| 9 HR | 10 3B | 44 2B | 115 BB | 0.318 BA | 0.396  OBP | 0.816  OPS |

2025 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS: 

->  R.I.S.P.  STATS:

| 1  HR | 1  3B | 10  2B | 50  RBI | 0.288 BA | 0.383  OBP | 0.791 OPS |

->  Excelled hitting out of the 2-Spot:

| 2 HR | 1 3B | 19 2B | 34  RBI | 0.298 BA | 0.364 OBP | 0.773 OPS |

->  Mr. Clutch - Excellent Stats with 2-Outs:

| 3 HR | 1 3B | 10 2B | 24 RBI | 0.288 BA | 0.369 OBP | 0.816  OPS |

33 Multi-hit games 

52 games -> on-base multiple times 

0.295 BA or better -> 3 Months 

0.384 OBP or better -> 3 Months 

->  May & June were his best months:

May ->.  | 1 HR | 8 2B | 12 SB| 11  RBI  | 14  R |  0.326 BA  |

| 0.384  OBP  |  0.833 OPS |

June ->   |  10  2B  |  12  SB  |  19  RBI  |  17  R  |  0.322 BA  |

|  0.413  OBP  |  0.846 OPS |

23%  K-Rate is respectable considering the Eastern League is loaded with premium pitching 

10%  BB-Rate is also above average -> MLB Avg. is 8%

49  Stolen bases -> 81% success rate 

2026 SEASON OUTLOOK:

Morabito had an excellent showing in the Arizona Fall League, making hard contact, stealing bases at will, and playing excellent defense, prompting Stearns to add him to the 40-man roster, so that he was protected from the upcoming Rule-V Draft. He also locked down a roster spot on loaded Syracuse roster for the 2026 season. Depending on what the Mets want to do with Jett Williams and Carson Benge, will dictate where he plays defensively. If the Mets want to get Benge ready for playing CF in Queens, we’ll probably see Morabito in LF. If the Mets want to get JETT ready for LF reps in Queens, we’ll probably might see Morabito start in RF.  

When Morabito was hitting in between JETT and Clifford, they enjoyed their best months with the Rumble Ponies. After the Mets promoted both of them to Syracuse, Morabito batted in between youngsters A.J. Ewing and Jacob Reimer, and they enjoyed their best stretch during their brief AA stint. That’s the type of effect Morabito has on his teammates, which is why it is important for the Mets to figure out a role for him in some capacity going forward. I have a lot of respect for Tyrone Taylor, but he’s getting paid $4 million dollars this season to fill a role that Morabito can easily do for $800,000. Morabito is a much better hitter, provides the same type of defense, and is an exponentially better base-stealer threat. 

If Morabito can continue developing he could be much more than a reserve OF, and he is young enough to improve his ability to hit lefties. Despite the limited number of homers Morabito has hit, when he does connect, they are legit bombs. I’m sure at some point the Mets will work with him to begin tapping into his raw power, which could considerably raise his prospect profile. Even if he is only 10-12 HR player, his ability to make consistent hard contact would be an asset even in a reserve role, especially against right-handed pitchers. Unless there is a dire need for Morabito in Queens, I expect he will get a full year in Syracuse to hone skills, and be given a chance to win a job in Queens for the 2027 season.

MACK - POSITION ANALYSIS - SP (#5 of 5)

 

Position Analysis – SP

Here comes your last five starters… 

Jonathan Jiminez – Turns 22 in March. RHSP. Pitched 12-G/7-ST for the FCL Mets last season (3.79, 1.15), then moved across the complex to the St. Lucie team (7-G, 6-ST, 3.00, 1.37). Collectively a .3.47-ERA in 19-G, 13-ST. Not bad for your first year stateside. I’m going to bump him up and complete the A+ Brooklyn rotation, unless there is something better that comes along. If, then back to more grooming in Florida. 

Abner Mesa – tuns 19 in May. RHSP. Mexican decent. 2025 was his first year in the organization and he pitched for both DSL teams: 12-G, 9-ST, 4-3, 2.79, 1.14, 38.2-IP, 32-K, 10-BB. No need to rush the youngin’. I anticipate a plethora of new draft pitchers that will fill the FCL and St. Luice rotation. If not, get em’ on de plane and link him up FCL style.                         

         

Jean Brito – turns 20 in March. 6-3 RHSP. Product of Venezuela. Like Mesa, pitched for both DSL teams last season: 13-G, 7-ST, 1-5, 2.84, 1.17, 44.1-IP, 36-K, 21-BB. Don’t like the lack of Ks and BB/9%. And 13 games do not make a season. Yeah, he is starting to ripen, but it’s back to the island for another go at it.                          

                                    

Anthony Crespo – turns 22 in May. RHSP. Panamanium… pandemonium… err… from Panama. Pitched the entire 2025 season for the FCL Mets. Just not much: 6-G, 1-ST, 0-0, 3.72, a whopping 1.86, 9.2-IP, 11-K, 8-BB. Obviously injured. I’m gonna give him another go at this, this time being a full time FCL starter. 

(for entertainment purposes only)

Julio Gonzalez – 19/years old. RHSP. Mexico. Pitched the entire 2025 season for the Mets DSL Orange team. Orange that sweet. Couldn’t help it. 12-G, 4-ST, 3-1, 2.55, 0.93, 35.1-IP, 30-K, 11-BB. WHIP under 1.00, at the DSL level, gets my attention. Still, if he is going to be a starter, he needs to stay at the DSL level and work on producing a higher K/9 rate. If he does that, he'll finish the season in Florida.

Paul Articulates - Win projection

The Mets of 2025 won 83 games, following a 2024 season where they won 89.  Before that was the very difficult 2023 season where they won only 75 games with two future hall of famers on the pitching staff.  Almost all of those teams has now been disassembled, and the rebuilding of the team is still in process.

The leadership of the Mets organization from Steve Cohen down through the lowest staff member remain committed to building this team into a sustainable winner.  Original projections of a five year path to success have not materialized and as we enter year six, the rebuilt team has a very hollow sound to it.  Gone are the core players like Alonso, Nimmo, and McNeil.  Gone are the pitchers like deGrom, Scherzer, and Verlander.  What remains in place is shortstop Francisco Lindor, the generational talent of Juan Soto, and a cast of other players who have not distinguished themselves as MLB star caliber.

The roster is yet to be completed for the 2026 team, but if one takes what is currently available and compares last year’s starting position players to this year’s projected starting position players, there is a net loss of 2.8 WAR and 132 RBI.  In other words, the replacements are not as good as the originals.  So if your gut feeling so far this winter is that we are moving backwards, you are correct.

In all fairness to the Mets leadership team, sometimes you have to take a step backwards to have a clear path towards the goal.  This appears to be the case with the current situation, as it was deemed necessary to blow up the core of the 2025 team instead of supplementing it with upgrades to the peripheral players.

Where from here?  The assumption all along was that there would be a few major acquisitions to supplement the statistical losses of RBI and WAR. The impact players that would make a difference in those calculations are continuing to hold out for a better offer since they have multiple teams vying for their services.  This would include players like Cody Bellinger, Kyle Tucker, and Bo Bichette who are each looking for multi-year deals with AAVs in the $27M-$35M range.

There has been no indication from the actions of the front office that they have any appetite for taking on long term contracts with inflated AAVs.  In fact, all actions taken to date were very much to the contrary.  The Mets are looking for value plays, and this is not the year for that type of deal.  This leads to the conclusion that at the end of hot stove season, the team will be promoting young prospects to fill voids and challenging them to grow into their roles.

The implication of what you have just read is a lost 2026 season.  It will be a year for younger players to work through the growing pains of adjusting to MLB competition.  It will be a year of transition for existing players into potentially new roles like Polanco or Soto at first base.  It will not be a return to a world championship in the 40th season since the last ticker tape parade.  My projection is somewhere between 70-75 wins in 2026 and no significant awards for the coaching staff or the individual players.  There will be regression not only at the team level, but also at individual levels, as the burden of carrying the team on their shoulders without adequate lineup protection eventually wears down Lindor and Soto.  Be prepared, Mets fans.  There is a price to pay for future success.

Oh, and by the way, happy new year!