THE LOWEST FIVE IN MY TOP 30!
I will do 6 articles on my top 30 Mets prospects, going in reverse order, 5 prospects at a time. Thereafter, two more articles, one on my 31-40, the other on my 41-50.
Today?
I am trying to assume that drafted pitchers in early rounds are likely to yield more positive upper ranges of outcomes than the draft duds of 2001-2020. So, I am adding a few in the tail end of my top 30 with very little to go on, other than draft pedigree.
That being said…
Here are my top Mets prospects, #’s 26 thru 30.
26) Luke McNeillie
2026 5th rounder.
Why Luke at #26?
Because the Mets have so few pitching prospects, and they drafted him in the 5th round, right? So I am speculating he will have a strong 2027 and plant himself more firmly in the top 30 this time next year.
One pro inning, 2 walks, and THREE STRIKEOUTS!
He is a 6’3” hard thrower who reportedly has touched 99.
27) Marco Vargas
I can’t call him Little Marco, because that was Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s moniker.
Vargas, a 5’11” lefty hitting SS, was left for dead, hitting just .210 in just 100 first half at bats.
Whoa, but he surged at bat in AA late in the season. .331/.399/.496 in the second half.
Finished at .277/.367/.401.
And he stole 29 of 30 in just 63 games!
Fine glove work at SS and 2B, too. Just 4 errors in 46 games in the field in 2026, and just 11 in 94 games in 2025, rates that are just about MLB caliber already.
And, good golly, Ms. Molly, he’s only 21. He and my #30 prospect both share May 14 birthdays, with Marco being a year younger.
As I write this, I realize I probably should have ranked him HIGHER.
Maybe I should have switched him with my #11, the oft-injured Jacob Reimer, even.
Maybe Vargas stuns us all and is in the top ten next year.
28) Yovanny Rodriguez
Y Rod is a bonus baby catcher with a decent bat. ZIn 2026, 65% of his play was in the FCL, 35% in St Lucie. He probably will do a little more Lucie in 2026, then truck north to Brooklyn. ETA? 2029 or 2030. Rodriguez was considered the best catching prospect in the 2024 International signings and was ranked very high overall in all of the signings that year. He signed for $2.85 million. We all hope that is a successful investment.
He hit .259 in 239 at bats in low and full A call, with 13 HRs and 49 RBIs.
2027 should be quite revealing. Good 2026 year in the lower minors with the bat, plays all of next year at age 20.
So many catching talents competing eventually for one of two catching positions. Will he surge to the fore in 2027? Possibly. He may be the best of them all in the long run.
29) Alex Petrovic
2026 6th rounder righty. Why Petrovic at #29?
Because the Mets have so few pitching prospects, and they had to draft him in the 6th round, right? He’s had one pro inning and fanned 2. I hope he can maintain that 18 Ks/9 ratio throughout his pro career,
And I was a huge fan of the NBA Nets’ star sharpshooter Drazen Petrovic, who was killed on the autobahn in a collision decades ago in 1993. He was 1992-93 All-NBA and is in the NBA Hall of Fame. He was the hardest working NBA player I ever saw.
But, what about Alex? Hopefully he works even harder.
Are they related? AI says no:
- Alex Petrovic: A right-handed pitcher born in Cypress, Texas, grew up in the U.S. and is of Seneca Nation descent.
- Dražen Petrović: The iconic Hall of Fame basketball player born in Šibenik, Croatia, whose actual basketball-playing older brother oddly is Aleksandar "Aco" Petrović.
Another site, however, did indeed refer to Alex as a Serbian, so who knows? He is a 6’5”, 235 righty with good control and a low to mid 90s fastball.
30) Peyton Prescott
Prescott, a 6’0”, 220 righty drafted in 2025, threw very high octane gas, but had Tommy John pre-draft. Nicely, in September, he was back from TJS. He is a 6’0” 200 righty. Why the 5th round? I guess because it was reported his FB averaged 96 in his last (sophomore) college season and he sometimes hit 100 MPH.
Despite just one pro IP, he is amazingly pitching in Arizona Fall ball, against lots of advanced hitters. So he must be GOOD!
Well, in AZ fall ball yesterday, he started the game and threw 2 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and fanning 2. He topped out at 94.9 MPH, but mixed in a bunch of cutters and sliders.
Just 25 pitches needed, 17 for strikes. Sweet.
If I waited until after the AFL to compile this top 30? He might have been several slots higher.
Maybe he is top 10 at this time next year. They just may have a LIVE one.
Next up? My 21 thru 25 fellas.
ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE WILDNESS
In back to back games, the Surprise Saguaros, to whom the Mets players are assigned, scored 29 runs on just 18 hits, but with THIRTY WALKS.
THIRTY WALKS IN TWO GAMES? Too much cactus juice consumption.
The 3 Mets offensive players went 2-11 with 6 walks and 6 runs scored in the two games. What to make of that, I do not know.
4 comments:
Happy Sunday. Mack’s Mets’ many readers are all in my Top 10.
You are in prospect territory that doesn't exist for the Mets. Their chain simply doesn't go this deep.
Moat of the players mentioned here have a better chance at teaching driver education in their local high school
Wait til you get to my 31-50 in a few weeks.
In Stearns’ world, if you are a pitcher and your arm isn’t amputated, you will someday pitch in the big leagues. 46 pitched in 2025, 39 in 2026. Once half of them get their three innings of fame, they will be teaching drivers ed. I took drivers ed and my driver exam in Manhattan, because I went to HS in Manhattan while living in Queens.
The instructor had to frequently adjust the steering of one girl in our car of three student Ed drivers. He wasn’t, however, in the exam car, when she side swiped another car. Last time I saw her. She probably stuck to subways and buses after that.
BTW, I was asked to sing on a farmer friend’s hayride last weekend. 5 hours, 50 songs. The hayride cart ran every 15 minutes with new riders. Each ride took about 12 minutes. I estimate I sang 50 songs, all with gusto. I have more stamina than most Mets pitchers.
Without a tip jar, I got over $50 handed to me. I am bring one next time! A few people said to me it was the most fun hay ride they’d ever been on. I had a blast. Every ride, I had everyone belting out Sweet Caroline. Surreal.
I am doing it again, weather permitting, this coming Saturday and possibly the next Saturday, also. Apple and pumpkin picking. Google Harbes Farm in Jamesport (a few miles east of Riverhead) for where it is. It runs from 12:00 to 5:30. There is admission cost, offset by being able to pick 3 lbs of apples.
Different riders every 15 minutes?
Next time only sing the songs in the first 15 minute ride
Then repeat them to the new riders
By the way... being a hay seed, you are perfect for hay rides
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