IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING.
OUR READERS ? THEY ARE ALL IN MY TOP 30!
BUT WHO ELSE IS?
Nick Morabito still qualifies as a prospect, due to being sat too much (or just enough to retain his rookie status in 2027) when he was called back up by the Mets, so I originally left him off the top prospects list as I wrote it. Despite his 34 days on the Mets 26 man roster in 2026, he fell short in plate appearances, so I am adding him onto the list at #10a.
Then I simply forgot Bryce Jenkins (senior moment), who had a wicked good relief season, so I am squeezing him in at # 24a. Too much work to rejigger all my listings.
Weird, I know…but it’s my article, so…if I want to make my top 30 have 32 dudes, roll with it.
AWAY..WE GO!!!
BTW, There is no historical evidence or record from Jackie Gleason or the show's writers indicating that the name or character of Ralph Kramden was influenced by or adapted from the name of concurrent baseball star Ralph Kiner.
1) Jefferson Rojas: pro hitter, good pop, good future (2027) major leaguer.
2) Mitch Voit - I am extremely high on Mitch Voit. MLB debut in mid-2027?
3) Billy Amick - has C4 explosives in his bat. “Power Supreme.” High Ks.
4) Jonathan Santucci - still Superb; lefty keeps gradually getting better.
5) Emilien Pitre: hits like young Jeff McNeil. Pitre means squirrel in French.
6) Aiden Robbins - like this new guy a lot. 2027 will show how good he’ll be.
7) Wandy Asigen - few games in 2026 for the 16 y/o due apparently to leg issues. Hopefully, he will be the best guy in this entire list in 3-4 years.
8) Elian Peña - did great in very hitter friendly FSL at age 18, but hit .164 in far more challenging High A Brooklyn. Elly’s defense needs mucho work (a porous 27 errors in 101 games, mostly at SS).
9) Carson Wiggins - uber fireballer who will excite Mets fans by 2028.
10) Jack Wenninger - should be a good righty pitcher for the Mets in 2027.
10a) Nick Morabito - wrote article before season ended. Nick squeezed in.
11) Jacob Reimer - what would he do if he wasn’t always injured? Dunno.
12) Billy Stafura: power neutered in Brooklyn. Binghamton-bound in 2027.
13) Aidan Smith - good talent. High Ks. We will find out how good in 2027.
14) Cole Mathis - 54th overall pick in 2024, yet the 1B/3B has had only 363 career PAs, which makes me leery about ranking him at all. Carson Benge, in the same draft, has over 1,200 plate appearances, as a point of extreme contrast. David Peterson has done better as a Cub than Mathis has so far as a Mets prospect. In fact, Mathis was just 5-42 after he was acquired on June 25. And he had only 189 total at bats this year. Off to Arizona for ABs. Bad start in AZ with the bat, so I probably have him TOO HIGH at # 14.
15) Cleiner Ramirez - another teenager whom Mets fans will love by 2030. He hit 7 DSL HRs, and stole 18 of 19, but went ice cold after June, finishing his DSL season by going 11 for 69 in July and August against truly super-soft DSL pitching. Plays next year as an 18 year old.
16) D’Andre Smith - too high? Needs to sustain late 2026 surge into 2027.
17) Trey Snyder - injured, but had quite a strong second half.
18) Boston Baro - oft-injured; needs to strut his stuff in 120+ games in 2027. Off to Arizona, too, slow start there. AZ is the Mets’ rehab facility.
19) Gary Gill Hill - everyone loves his control. A righty Zac Thornton?
20) Garrett Stratton - quietly an excellent reliever in 2026. Keep climbing.
21) Gabe Davis - big pitching dude with big pitching potential.
22) Jefry Yan - still a rookie. I think he’ll soon reduce his control flaws.
23) Dylan Ross - awful 1st half, much better 2nd half, for fireball reliever.
24) Ryan Dollar - undrafted reliever who had a fine 2026. Or, if you prefer, you can add (24a) Bryce Jenkins here, who had an incredible relief year in High A/AA of 8-2, 1.66 in 45 outings. You want to replace my unproven #29 guy below with Jenkins, go ahead.
25) Shane Sdao - highly considered lefty drafted in the 4th round.
26) Luke McNeillie - 5th round righty. Why not?
27) Marco Vargas - left for dead, he truly surged in AA late in the season.
28) Yovanny Rodriguez - catcher with decent bat. Big future? Perhaps.
29) Alex Petrovic - 6th round righty. Why not?
30) Peyton Prescott - throws gas, back from TJS, 1 pro IP, off to Arizona.
Honorable mention:
Calvin Ziegler - Wild as crap, or should I say crud on this family-friendly blog, in his re-emergence in late 2026. He surrendered 24 walks and 4 hit batsmen in 13 innings, but hope springs eternal for the oft-injured Ziegler. Off to Arizona, too. Hey, he threw a super clean inning in his first Arizona outing, 1-2-3, just 8 pitches. But then got wild again. Let’s see how his entire AFL goes.
Close, But No Cigar:
The one acquired hitter that I am leaving out of the top 30 is Bruin Agbayani - supposedly a very good 19 y/o hitter who was hurt most of 2026. Just 2 for 12 for St Lucie after being acquired, and incredibly just 69 total pro at bats after being drafted in 2025. Lou Gehrig he is not. Benny Agbayani he is not, for that matter. But…he too is off to Arizona, where so far, he is understandably overmatched.
…He’s had tons of career at bats in his 5 minor league seasons, and as such, 2026 to me was a major letdown. He MUST hit much better in 2027.
Next article up, in a few days? My #26 thru #30 guys.
21 comments:
Where's Danny Muno?
Where's Bryce Montes de Oca?
Where's Jake Magnum?
Where's Thomas Szapucki?
As you would guess, there is one I disagree with. Yes, loved the homers. Yes, loved the RBIs. Hate the strikeouts. Hate the contact rate. Comparing these numbers to those who did play in the majors, not pretty results. Is that why most rank him much further down. Needs to get the contact rates into the upper 70s minimum with a reducing strikeouts. If he can accomplish that, then I will start getting on board.
WHO?
Forgot him.
Went to driving school to stop driving wildly into buildings. Had his 7th TJS first.
Watching the movie, The Graduate.
Joined the pro bowling tour as a righty bowler.
I’m guessing you are referring to Banging Billy Amick. You may be right, that the high 39% K rate is incurable. But maybe he can temper it. 15 HRs in 137 at bats after the Mets trade? Impressive. And he only had 343 at bats before this season, so what he accomplished, given that, was amazing. Now he needs to refine in 2027, not regress.
Clifford, by comparison, fanned a far higher 37% of the time. And while Amick started the season with 343 PAs, Clifford came into 2026 with 1732 PAs.
When you realize that Clifford had over 80% of his lefty at bats vs. righties, that to me feels like his situation is hopeless. He will have 2027 to prove it, but he makes Kingman look like Tony Gwynn by comparison.
Steve is off listening to the WHO
Great list, Tom. My only criticism is that Reimer is too high. I really don't see him playing for the MLB team at any position.
Interesting list Tom. I agree with Steve, but for a different reason. I feel Santucci is being under recognized as a fireballing southpaw… but, I get your drift. I like Amick’s talents also.
I would switch Vargas and Mathis…. I’d switch Gill Hill and Wenninger…. Parada should have been in there…. And where is everybody’s darling, Corey Collins? Or the great guy Randy Guzman? Or the helium Hurtado?
Fun list Tom!!
You simply can't shake a stick at 108-RBI at any level
Reimer is baffling. I slipped him down to 11 and was very tempted to droop him ten rungs further. If ya can’t stay healthy…
Amick 108 RBIs in just 122 games. Quite a pace.
Wenninger I was also giving perhaps too much benefit of the doubt. Hill is more hittable, but with much better control. Collins might be better than Reimer. I should have had him in the 20s, at least. Guzman? Show me a full injury-free season. Some guys miss so much darned time, and I have to wonder why? Parada like Collins just missed out on my 30. Up to them to make me look like an idiot in 2027.
I saw Wenninger pitch, and my immediate flashback was Corey Oswalt. As for Gill Hill, Keith Law said his velocity jumped into the 96-97 range with the Mets without a loss of control. Also, isn’t this Zach Thorton’s profile? Gill Hill may have a bit more Marcus Stroman in personality, but as a prospect, I would give him some extra rope.
I was unaware of the Gill Hill tick up to 96-97. Good news. His allowing 160 hits in 140 innings chilled my ranking a bit.BUT…fascinating…Jake deGrom in 2013 allowed a very similar 168 hits in 148 minors innings. So, if Hill can become Jake deGrom, I won’t complain.
Doesn’t Wenninger throw faster than Oswalt did?
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