ANGRY MIKE
The 2026 season has the potential to be a very important year regarding the development of key players at various levels within the organization. Obviously one season should never be used to solely judge a player’s development or potential, but a successful season by certain players could potentially elevate their profile exponentially, in regards to organizational depth chart rankings and future potential value.
NOLAN MCLEAN
All eyes will be on McLean, as he offers the Mets their best chance of finally
developing a much-needed homegrown “ACE”. McLean has one of the best
pitching arsenals in the MLB, and he has the rare ability to continue raising
his ceiling in each given year. When you take into account he only pitched
57 IP during his collegiate career and the fact that 2025 was his first
full-season as a full-time SP, it’s easy to see why he’s only scratched the
surface of what could be an extremely high ceiling.
FRANCISCO ALVAREZ
Alvarez has some of the best offensive tools in the organization, his power is rare for a catcher, and he also has the ability to hit for a higher average than he’s shown. He started to finally unlock his best version after a demotion to AAA, if he can exhibit that type of ability over a full-season, he’ll not only be a perennial All-Star, he’ll also position himself as a perennial Silver Slugger candidate.
MARK VIENTOS
Vientos was arguably our best power hitter during the 2024 regular season, and was by far the most dangerous hitter during the Mets magical 2024 playoff run. After battling inconsistency during the early months of the 2025 season, he finally kick into high gear after the All-Star break. Vientos has the ability to replace the production lost by the departure of Pete Alonso via free agency, whether he gets the opportunities to do so and if he capitalizes on those opportunities is anyone’s guess.
BRETT BATY
Baty has some of the best offensive tools of any young hitter in the MLB, as I’ve outlined in a previous article, prospects who are graded as having a 60-Hit Tool & 70-Power Tool is an exclusive club. Despite all the shenanigans regarding playing time, Baty took full advantage of his opportunities during the 2025 season. If he continues to improve his numbers against LHP, as well as improve his road splits, the Mets have another potential .265+ BA & 25+ HR bat capable of logging reps at a multitude of positions. Stearns recently commented how he expects Baty to make starts at RF, signaling their commitment to keeping Baty’s bat in the lineup at all costs.
CARSON BENGE
Benge had a breakout 2025 season, quickly establishing himself as one of the bigger steals of the 2024 MLB Draft. Concerns over his ability to hit for power were silenced after he exploded for 8 HR in only 32 games at Binghamton. He’s being fast-tracked to the MLB and is expected to challenge for the starting RF position, and the fact Juan Soto even moved to LF to make room for Benge, tells you all you need to know about the type of impact Benge can have on both sides of the ball.
JONAH TONG
Tong’s 2025 season was nothing short of historic, and despite an entire off-season of the media and Mets fans clamoring for him to be traded for a proven “Ace”, he’s still here. The Mets were never going to trade Tong, you simply don’t trade young players who’ve elevate their ceiling as quickly as Tong has the past two years. Tong’s pitching arsenal is far from complete, the uptick in velocity opens the door for a multitude of new opportunities in regards to what other pitches he decides to develop to compliment his 70-Grade fastball & 60+ Grade changeup. How quickly he finishes developing his arsenal will ultimately dictate how fast he joins McLean at the top-of-the rotation.
JONATHAN SANTUCCI
Santucci was David Stearns’ & Kris Gross’ second official draft selection, and he received one of the highest signing bonuses for a pitcher drafted outside of the first round, as well as one of the ten highest signing bonuses awarded to a pitcher. His breakout 2025 season quickly proved the signing bonus he received was a bargain, and teams overly concerned about his command issues and medical history during his collegiate career, made a huge mistake passing on a player who was widely considered a Top-15 talent.
Santucci has the explosive upside and the chance to continue rising his prospect profile during his sophomore season, while positioning himself for a rotation spot for 2027.
A.J. EWING
Ewing’s breakout 2025 season, raised his prospect profile arguably as high as McLean, if not higher. When you take into account, he went from being a senior in high school in 2023, to batting over .300 as the #2 hitter for a AA team’s championship run, it’s easy to see why he exploded onto recently released prospect rankings. Anyone who has seen Ewing play aren’t worried about his power numbers, as power is often the last component developed by a young hitter. If Ewing continues his torrid stretch at the plate, he could force himself into the Mets lineup later this season or Opening Day 2027, at the very latest. His tools are electric and perfectly complement the Mets current lineup.
JACOB REIMER
Reimer had an excellent professional debut during the 2023 season, which was overshadowed by Jett Williams stellar professional debut. Despite missing most of the 2024 season, Reimer established himself as one of the more exciting young hitters in the minors, by helping Binghamton win a Championship, even after the Mets promoted their three best hitters in the lineup. Reimer established himself as a legit 20+ HR hitter, who can also post .275+ BA and .365+ OBP, which is good enough to help lineups win games, regardless of where he plays defensively.
ZACH THORNTON
Thornton was lost in the shuffle during the 2025 season, because of the sheer number of Mets pitching prospects who produced breakout seasons. Make no mistake the dominance he exhibited at AA, did not go unnoticed by true prospect-hounds, and Mets brass, as he continues to firmly cement himself as interesting candidate for either the rotation or bullpen as early as this season according to David Stearns recent press conference. Thornton’s velocity continues to tick up, and another significant velo bump and duplicating his 2025 production, will clearly place him in consideration for an integral role for the Mets in the near future.
JACK WENNINGER
Like Thornton, Wenninger’s breakout 2025 season at Binghamton was also overshadowed by other pitching prospects who produced dominant numbers.
It didn’t help that the younger prospects who replaced McLean and Tong, Santucci and Will Watson, also performed remarkably. Nevertheless, Wenninger remains a high-upside prospect, who can cement a role in Queens, if he can continue to improve his secondary pitches and duplicate his 2025 success, while pitching for AAA Syracuse in 2026.
WILL WATSON
Watson is a similar case to Thornton, in that, here we have a pitching prospects who produced with limited experience pitching at the Division I level, drafted in the middle rounds, and then quickly exhibited huge improvements across his entire pitching arsenal. Despite getting his first real taste as a SP, Watson improved the velocities of all his pitches, and continued to improve his production as a SP, even after surpassing his career high in IP for a season & tallying higher pitch counts and IP each outing than ever before. His stuff is electric and he even sneaked onto a Top 100 Ranking, ahead of other Mets prospects, which speaks volumes as to his future ceiling.
TREY SNYDER
Snyder received the third highest signing bonus for the 2024 Draft class, despite being a 5th round pick out of high school. He more than held his own during an aggressive assignment to St. Lucie, and offers a similar athletic profile and skillset to A.J. Ewing. He’s my sleeper pick for a prospect who could produce a similar breakout season like Ewing, only because many people might overlook what he accomplished in his professional debut. He’s an electric talent, who could rise quickly, if he continues to improve.
ELIAN PENA
Pena is going to be one of the most closely watched prospect in the minor leagues by Mets fans, prospect analysts, and Mets brass. Make no mistake about it, the Mets didn’t just unload Jett Williams and Luisangel Acuna to improve their MLB roster, they were also making room for what they expect will be a meteoric rise through the minors by Pena. Stearns didn’t hesitate allowing Jackson Chourio to establish himself at the MLB level as a 19-year old during his tenure with the Brewers. Whether he fast-tracks Pena in similar fashion remains to be seen, but many scouts believe Pena has the rare ability to debut as a teenager, and the Mets unloading both players ahead of him on the organizational depth chart for the future starting 2B role, certainly speaks volumes in my humble opinion. Pena has the ability to join Juan Soto as the only player on the Mets to develop scouting grades that exhibit 70+ Power Tool and 70+ Hit Tool. Analysts whose opinions I trust, firmly believe Pena will start in the FCL, but I have to respectfully disagree with their prediction, and will venture to guess, Pena starting with St. Lucie, like recent high school draft picks, and hopefully finishing in Binghamton like Jett Williams did during his professional debut.
These youngsters in particular will be tracked closely by Mets brass, the scale of progressions in their development could have huge implications as to their futures within the organization. 2026 shouldn’t be characterized as a “make or break” season, for some, a successful 2026 campaign shows they were able to build off of their breakout 2025 campaigns. For others a successful 2026 campaign shows they were able to make the necessary adjustments to overcome the adversity that caused an inconsistent 2025 campaign, which is arguably the most important quality in a professional athlete playing under the bright lights of New York City.
