Mets Minors: Draft preview and predictions

The MLB Draft is less than a month away and it’s time for me to highlight some of the players that the Mets might be looking at with their assorted picks. As with previous years I am going to provide the player ranked at the pick, a player the Mets may hope falls to them and a player who they might reach down to get.

Pick #19

On The Nose: Carson Benge, OF (21) – Benge looks like a solid pick and reminds me a little of Michael Conforto based on his profile. He profiles as a solid hitting right fielder with a very good arm and one who could probably reach the majors in only 2-3 years.

Reaching: Cam Caminiti, LHSP/OF (17) – One of the youngest players in the draft, Caminiti was expected to be in next year’s draft before he was reclassified. He is just a tick under 100 MPH on the radar gun and is unlikely to proceed as a two way player.

Dipping Down: Brody Brecht, RHSP (21) – Two things the Mets will like about Brecht is that he’s a college pitcher who might have a shorter path to the majors and second, that his fastball sits at 96-99 and goes into triple digits. His control is an issue but he has two truly phenomenal pitches in his repertoire.

Pick #46

On The Nose: Tyson Lewis, SS (18) – Every year there are multiple players in a draft that profile like Lewis as having solid contact, solid power and good speed at a skill position. To me he’s a little too similar to Jeremy Rodriguez but it’s good to have depth at these harder to field positions.

Reaching: Ryan Johnson, RHP (21) – A college pitcher with great command and five pitches is nothing to sneeze at. His fastball can touch 100 MPH and his slider is a great pitch but his toolbox of other pitches needs a lot of trimming and refining.

Dipping Down: Chris Levonas, RHP (18) – A local kid from NJ, Levonas has a good amount of power in his fastball which gets up in the 96-97 range and a great spin rate. An intense competitor he has a repertoire that could develop into a front of the rotation option.

Pick #82

On The Nose: Aiden May, RHP (21) – A ceiling of mid-back of the rotation, May has a fastball that tops out at 97 and a very good slider. He doesn’t yet use his changeup enough to know what it will be and if he winds up as a reliever or a starter.

Reaching: Tyson Neighbors, RHP (21) – A three-pitch starter who came from obscurity his stuff currently rates far above where he is ranked. His fastball reaches 99 MPH and he has a solid slider and cutter to back it up. Currently described as a potential future closer.

Dipping Down: Anson Seibert, RHP (18) – I have too many pitchers in my picks but I can’t help it. At 6’8” Seibert is a big fella and his fastball rates well. His breaking pitches are pretty standard but both his slider and changeup seem viable.

Pick #111

On The Nose: Rustan Rigdon, SS (18) – I talked about Lewis at the 46th pick and the reality is that Rigdon doesn’t profile too differently despite ranking over fifty picks lower down. The difference here is that Rigdon may be better suited to second base.

Reaching: Michael Massey, RHP (21) – Again, I’m a sucker for a starting pitcher whose fastball is over 96 and who brings multiple breaking pitches to the table. The Mets will almost definitely not go with pitching for all their four first picks but there are worse options.

Dipping Down: Chase Harlan, 3B (17) – A powerful corner infielder who has shown an ability to learn and grow on the fly. He currently ranks this low because his power tool is far above his hit tool but scouting suggests that he could develop into a more even hitter with coaching.

AAA: Syracuse Mets

Brett Baty is a AAA star, so why can’t he cut it in the majors? When he is in AAA, Baty does it all. He hits for power, he hits for contact, he walks and he doesn’t strike out too often. He has now auditioned pretty extensively at the MLB level and come out wanting. Now Mark Vientos has gotten his chance to stick and he’s looking like far more than the Japanese League star some of our readers predicted. With Vientos’ success in Queens and Baty’s success in Syracuse is there still a future for Baty with the Mets?

If the Vientos who is currently proving to be far more than a AAAA player is for real then the Mets have a jam up of players. Neither Vientos nor Baty is thought of as a Plus defensive third baseman and the Mets still don’t have a 2024 or 2025 identity. With their recent surge they are likely to keep playing with the squad they have and are unlikely to trade stars like Pete Alonso or Starling Marte leaving Baty and his flashy .339/.387/.679 slash line in June to languish.

The solution I see for Baty now that he has seemingly lost the battle for third is to find a new position. The Mets, in typical fashion, are not giving Baty much of an opportunity for this. They have had him at third and second since his demotion. Ultimately, my gut tells me that Baty will be a solid, if not star, player but with another franchise.

Luisangel Acuna, 2B/SS – Acuna has put together a stronger June so far. He’s still not performing the way I think a top prospect should but the OPS is over .700 and that’s a start.

Christian Scott, RHSP – Scott continues to perform in the minors after his demotion. If the Mets are serious about making the postseason he should be in the majors.

Jose Butto, RHSP – June 1st was bad but his three starts since then were very good. Another pitcher who is probably better than starters on the major league squad.

Blade Tidwell, RHSP – Some bumps in Tidwell’s progress but nothing yet to be alarmed by. Tidwell earned his promotion to AAA but hasn’t yet looked good at the new level.

Mike Vasil, RHSP – Vasil is having his best month of the season but it’s a small victory to have a 4.15 ERA over three starts and be bragging.

AA: Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Brandon Sproat might be ready for the majors soon –  Few players in the Mets organization can claim to have had a 2024 like Sproat. He began the year for Advanced A Brooklyn which was particularly expected after he declined to sign with the Mets in 2023. What was less expected, based on their recent history, was that the Mets would promote Sproat to AA after six solid outings at the Advanced A level.

Now pitching at an age appropriate level he’s made six starts for Binghamton and has looked every bit like an Ace in the making in all but one of them. He’s given up few hits and few runs while keeping his walks under control and striking out 40 over 35.2 innings. Tidwell is the same age and currently pitching for AAA but hasn’t looked quite as good since leaving AA. It seems very possible that the Mets organization would be well served by promoting Sproat a second time in the same season and getting him up to AAA ahead of Spring Training.

Tyler Stuart, RHSP – Stuart doesn’t have the same ceiling that Sproat and Tidwell have but he should be with them in AAA next year waiting for a call.

Joander Suarez, RHSP – Suarez has looked very good in about half of his starts. He’s also looked pretty bad in the other half.

Kevin Parada, C – The offensive numbers remain lackluster but he’s starting to strike out a lot less.

Ryan Clifford, 1F/OF – He’s never going to be a high average hitter but his SLG in June is .673 and that makes up for it.

Nolan McLean, RHSP/DH – Since promotion McLean has been bad on both sides of the game. He can’t seem to find his footing on the mound or at the plate.

JT Schwartz, 1B – Schwartz is a frustrating prospect to cover. He’s have a very nice season but is just not enough of a hitter to matter at his position.

Alex Ramirez, OF – Walks had become a problem for Ramirez but he’s turned that around in a big way. His OBP was 100 points higher than his average. If he gets hot again and keeps this up it’s going to make waves.

Justin Jarvis, RHSP – His last three starts were solid but I’m not sure it matters.

Paul Gervase, RHRP – The best reliever in the system is looking ready to move up to AAA.

A+: Brooklyn Cyclones

We missed Christopher Suero but now we’ll be watching – I talked about all of the catchers in the Met system earlier this month and Brian added one to the list. Why did we miss him? Well, he wasn’t a major international signee and he didn’t even come to the Mets through the amateur draft. Suero was a minor league free agent we signed in 2022 and there was no reason to pay too much attention.

This season in the pitcher’s confines of Brooklyn he has put together a campaign that should be turning heads.  In 2022 the Mets sent the Bronx native to the DSL where his numbers were nothing special and in 2023 he put together a very strong FCL campaign but we didn’t look into it. Now in 2024 he’s showing us an advanced ability to walk, some solid power and hitting numbers that will certainly play at his position. Expect him to leave Advanced A as soon as the Mets decide Parada has served enough time in AA.

Jonah Tong, RHSP – Tong continues to prove his rankings ascension to be accurate but the concern with the slight dip in success is that he’s now in the pitcher friendly park and he’ll have a rude awakening in AA.

Stanley Consuegra, OF – What more do the Mets need from him to free him from Brooklyn?

Nick Morabito, OF – He needs to show more power if he’s going to stay in the Top 10 but he looks like his floor is in the majors and that is certainly good.

A: Port St. Lucie Mets

Jesus Baez is a prospect to watch – While he wasn’t a household name before the 2024 season he appeared in every Top 50 prospect list for the Mets. At 19 years of age Baez has become the cornerstone of the St. Lucie offense displaying the best hitting tools on the squad. With all eyes on the high draft pick, Colin Houck, Baez has outperformed but he’s also being relegated to splitting time between shortstop, third and second. He may not ultimately last at shortstop but his power, contact and eye should allow him to play at almost any position on the team he’s on.

Franklin Gomez, RHSP – Quietly having a solid season. He should be in Brooklyn in 2025.

Ronald Hernandez, C – He’s one of the best hitters on the team and has been very consistent. With Suero and Parada in the leagues above him he may be delayed in Low A.

Colin Houck, SS/3B – June has been his best month but that only got his OPS just over .700 and a top prospect needs to do more.

Willy Fanas, OF – After starting strong he’s cooled off significantly.

R: FCL Mets

Simon Juan belongs in Low A – He has been on fire and deserves to be considered for promotion to the Port St. Lucie club. In May Juan was good: He had a slash line of .279/.355/.471 but in June he’s been otherworldly. His line: .340/.396/.702 is scary good and while his walks could be higher his low OBP isn’t because of an excess of strikeouts. He’s only 18 years old through July 13th and looks to be more than ready to join Fanas at the next level.

Daviel Hurtado, LHSP – A larger name international signee, Hurtado is getting stretched out still but has looked to be improving.

Julio Zayas, C – His OPS in June is over .800 and he looks like a steady contributor. He’s also waiting in the long line of talent being held up by Kevin Parada.

Jeremy Rodriguez, SS – After a blistering May, Rodriguez has cooled off hard in June.