The Syracuse Mets began their season a day after the New York Mets began theirs. This week, the rest of the MiLB teams, with the exception of the summer leagues like the FCL and DSL, will begin their season.
Let's preview each of these three teams and which players to keep an eye on as they move through the system in 2026.
Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies:
The defending Eastern League Champions have some big shoes to fill from last year's squad. That team ended an 11-year title drought and rolled through the Eastern League regular season and postseason with ease.
There will be some familiar faces in Binghamton to open the season. Names like infielders Jacob Reimer, A.J Ewing, and pitcher Will Watson will be back. However, these players ended their season with the Rumble Ponies last year, this time, they'll be starting the season with them. This is significant for these three big prospect names who the Mets hope will contribute to the Big League club as soon as this season.
The Rumble Ponies will enjoy the riches of the Mets' pitching prospects as they'll see four of the Mets' top-30 prospects in their starting rotation. Will Watson, Jonathan Santucci, Zach Thornton, and R.J Gordon are set to give Binghamton their most potent rotation in recent memory.
With A.J Ewing and Jacob Reimer patrolling the infield, Binghamton will have two of the Mets best hitting prospects starting the season with them. They'll be joined by fellow top-30 prospect, Chris Suero, to form what looks like a balanced Binghamton lineup with power, speed, and contact.
High-A Brooklyn Cyclones:
Brooklyn will begin the season with just three top-30 prospects on their active roster. Those are outfielder Eli Serreno (13), and infielders Marco Vargas (20), and Boston Baro (23).
But don't let that fool you. The Cyclones are coming into 2026 with plenty of intriguing under the radar prospects on their roster. Pleasant surprises from last year Trace Willhoite and John Bay, both undrafted free agents who turned in solid seasons with Low-A St. Lucie in 2025, will get their shot at a full MiLB season in High-A.
The Cyclones pitching staff will include Joel Diaz. A former top-30 prospect who has had his career derailed by injuries, will headline the rotation in Brooklyn. Last year, he turned in a solid season with Brooklyn, his first full healthy campaign, where he sported an ERA of 3.80 in 106 innings.
Noah Hall, though he's not ranked on the top-30 Met prospect list, was the Cyclones' best pitcher in 2025. He put up an ERA of 2.72 in 21 starts and struck out 115 along the way. He'll be back in Brooklyn in 2026 as him and Diaz will form an exciting one-two rotation punch.
Low-A St. Lucie Mets:
The Mets of St. Lucie come into 2026 with an interesting blend in their roster. They have a couple of early draft picks from last year, infielders Mitch Voit and Antonio Jimenez, both top-30 prospects in the Met system that were taken in the first and third round in last year's draft respectively.
The two of them had a "cup of coffee" in Low-A last season, and I'm especially looking forward to seeing what University of Michigan product, Mitch Voit can do in his first professional season.
One of the Mets' most promising catching prospects, Daiverson Gutierrez will spend his second full season in St. Lucie. While his 2025 numbers were inconsistent, he's still just 20-years-old, and his power and contact numbers remain promising.
The outfield consists of rising prospects such as Randy Guzman, who burst onto the scene last season by playing well in the FCL, and then, continuing that stellar play after his promotion to St. Lucie.
Simon Juan, is just the opposite. After signing with the Mets in 2022, he had just as much fanfare as Elian Pena does now. However, he has yet to live up to that promise. He'll be turning 20 this year, but it feels as if 2026 will be a make or break season for him, as the Mets system continues to develop position players at a higher quality rate than in years past.
As a prospect hugger, I love this time of year. The MiLB season will have its first full slate of games this Friday the 3rd. Last year, two Met MiLB teams won their league titles. The Mets farm system is ranked in the top-10 across most expert lists. It's an exciting time down on the farm, and lets all look forward to another summer of tracking MiLB from Florida to Syracuse.
6 comments:
Prospect hugging is a favorite April pastime. Binghamton will be loaded early on. They should have a killer first half. Then…promote half of them. They’ll have earned it. The Babe Ruth led 1926 Yankees were 91-63 (.590) - I want the 2026 Rumblers to be ,690, or better, in the first half.
My dark horse guy this spring is Randy Guzman. The name that no one outside his family last year will get to show us if he will be the next Willie Mays…or Wuilmer Becerra, who sputtered as he climbed the corporate minors ladder.
The Mets' organization had a great year in the minors in 2025. This looks like it will be another one. Looking forward to seeing these prospects perform.
I never care or rate these teams on overall talent or results. To me, it's all individual development
Agreed - give me 3 superstars and otherwise lousy teams over a bunch of successful minors teams producing nothing but Matt den Dekkers and Drew Gilbert’s.
Great article, great timing. I am excited to see the minor league seasons open.
St. Lucie shall have Elian Peña on its roster. I thought Jimenez and voit will be at Brooklyn. Surprised Diaz remains in Brooklyn. Thought he would be at AA.
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