Mets Minors: Carson Benge and the 2024 draft class

The Mets came away from the 2024 draft with Carson Benge OF/RHP, Jonathan Santucci LHP, Nate Dohm RHP, Eli Serrano III OF, Trey Snyder SS/3B, Corey Collins 1B and others. The team didn’t have the greatest assortment of picks coming into the draft thanks to their bloated payroll but ultimately came away with a few wins. While I won’t claim that the Mets did anything stunning, I am happy with the picks they were able to make.

Carson Benge, 21 – Benge is a collegiate player who many predicted the Mets would be aiming for with their 18th overall pick. MLB.com had even ranked him 18th overall. Benge is a two way player and the Mets have recently acquired another of those in Nolan McLean but it remains to be seen if the Mets will use him this way. The main reason they may not is that most two-way players wind up as DH’s when they aren’t pitching and Benge is too promising as an outfielder to do that. I previously made the comparison to Michael Conforto with Benge but I’d prefer to alter that and toss out Rick Ankiel as a comparison.

Jonathan Santucci, 21 – A left-handed collegiate pitcher ranked 37th overall by MLB.com was more than I imagined the Mets would be able to snag with their second pick and he is, perhaps, the pick I am most excited by. He has a strong fastball for a lefty and sits in the upper 90s with strong secondary offerings in a slider and a changeup. Like a few other Met prospects (Blade Tidwell, I’m looking at you) his control is an issue but one that scouts believe he will be able to overcome. His ceiling could be quite high but it’s hard to see just how high until we see how bad the control problems wind up being.

Nate Dohm, 21 – The Mets drafted a little below pick estimates in selecting Dohm but I’m not going to fault the Mets in drafting a guy who projects to be a solid mid-back-end starter. Dohm has good control and boasts four solid pitches which are great tricks to have. Add that his path to the minors might not be too long and I think it’s a solid pick.

Eli Serrano III, 21 – If there is a pick I’m least enthusiastic about it’s Serrano and there’s upside here so don’t get too worried. Serrano is a tall lanky outfielder who might wind up shifting to first base. At 6’5” he was expected to develop more power and that hasn’t happened but that isn’t to say it won’t now that he’s a Met.

Trey Snyder, 18 – Snyder is a very good pick but one that you can’t be 100% confident will sign with the Mets. He’s Committed to Tennessee and might be hoping to get a better draft position by heading to college. Snyder is a solid across the board shortstop who does everything but might be a little lacking in power. He might end up needing to shift to third but has the upside to be a very high ceiling fifth round pick if he signs.

Corey Collins, 22 – Hitting the sixth round of the draft you are hoping for players to have trajectories of reaching the majors and Collins does more than that. Collins has the bat that he could be an impact bat in the majors. His issues are that he’s limited defensively and won’t be able to play in the outfield or catch as had been hoped earlier in his development. He has power and a great eye that should allow him to hit in the minors. He should be an immediate boost to Brooklyn, when he signs but unfortunately he’s a lefty and may see few home runs in his new home ballpark. At 22 he is expected to sign though as of writing this he has not done so yet.

AAA Syracuse Mets:

The Sad Tale of J.T. Schwartz – In brighter news for Schwartz the Mets gave him a promotion to AAA which was well earned. He’s been one of the few steady offensive producers for AA Binghamton and he’s, frankly, been a steady bat through most of his minor league tenure. Ultimately, he’s just not bound for much of a major league career regardless of what he does. He’s defensively limited and doesn’t have the power to justify him playing first base or DH at the next level. He can play left field or third in a pinch and that may give him a bench role future but it’s foolhardy to see much more than that.

Blade Tidwell, RHSP – Since his promotion things have not gone fantastically for Tidwell who is seeing a resurgence of control issues.
Brett Baty, 3B – While his overall AAA numbers remain stellar his production in July has taken a hit and it’s going to be telling to see how long he takes to break out of this slump.
Luisangel Acuna, 2B/SS/OF – His batting average may be better and his Ks may be down but he doesn’t have the power and doesn’t draw the walks to justify him being a top 10 prospect in the organization.

AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies:

Is Brandon Sproat and Ace? – That is a viable question that people should be asking after his first minor league season which has been a breakout success. Sproat is a high powered pitcher who, unlike others, seems to have little trouble staying in the strike zone and seems to give his team the opportunity to win each time he takes the mound. I’ve talked before about him being ready for AAA and that remains true even as his last two starts have seen his ERA rise. He only has 9 starts in AA but only got 6 in High A before his last promotion. I think that if the Mets are going to be a playoff contender in 2025 they need him to be in the conversation for the rotation this Spring.

Tyler Stuart, RHSP – He may not look like an Ace in every start but he does have the best control of the Mets prospect pitching staff and seems most-likely headed for a major league career of some sort.
Kevin Parada, C – Cautious optimism abounds as his offensive numbers in July take a leap forward. He’s still striking out too often.
Ryan Clifford, OF/1B – He strikes out a bunch but his SLG is high enough to justify it. If he’s going to slug .712 (as he has in July) he can strike out 1.5 times a game.
Nolan McLean, RHSP/DH – Maybe he can’t do it all. Since the Mets stopped letting him DH in June his pitching has gotten markedly better.
Stanley Consuegra, OF – He’s enjoying the power potential of Binghamton but needs to remember to keep getting on base as he just needs a higher BA/OBP to be a viable prospect.
Alex Ramirez, OF – Walks are good and I’m glad he adjusted to walk more but he’s not hitting for high enough an average or for enough power.

Advanced A Brooklyn Cyclones:

Is Jesus Baez a Top 10 Talent? – I mentioned that Luisangel Acuna was no longer ranked in my Top 10 Mets prospects and I’ll admit now he’s fallen down to 14th overall but interestingly Baez has risen and now ranks 13th. Arguments could be made, based on a fine performance this season, that Baez could be ranked higher. At 19 years of age Baez is playing for Brooklyn and playing well. Baez actually plays a similar amount at two different positions but part of this was him playing with Colin Houck and the Mets looking to spread playing time. He’s an intriguing player who seems to have some power, reasonable speed and patience enough to not have a problem with strikeouts. Based on this and a number of other factors there is a solid chance of Baez ending the year ranked in my Top 10.

Jonah Tong, RHSP – Tong continues to enjoy a strong overall season for the Mets as he’s settled in at AA. There is a small chance that the Mets promote him to AA before the end of 2024.
Kade Morris, RHSP – He’s a bit old for the level and his ceiling isn’t great but he seems to be back on track after a rough patch of games in June.
Nick Morabito, OF – If his April was expectation shattering, his May was eye opening, and his June was sobering. His July has been disheartening.

Low A Port St. Lucie Mets:

Boston Baro Does the Small Things – Baro has looked very good at times this season but he doesn’t have a standout quality. He doesn’t exactly have power and he’s only stolen 5 bags over 61 games. What he does do is not strike out and take some walks while being a solid singles hitter. Combining that with his ability to play all across the infield and a future as a backup player seems feasible.

Ronald Hernandez, C – He’s been one of the best players for St. Lucie and he’s supposed to be above average defensively. If the latter is true he should have a future.
Willy Fanas, OF – Getting the K’s under control in July is good but if he hit for more power it would be better.

Rookie FCL Mets:

How Excited Should we get About Daiverson Gutierrez? – I once ranked ranked Gutierrez 11th overall in the Mets system but after not doing much of note in 2023, he started the year towards the bottom of my Top 50. In 2024 he proceeded to breakout in the DSL and get promoted to the FCL. The 18 year old catching prospect has been great since coming stateside. He’s shown some power with 9 doubles and a couple homers but it’s that he can take a walk without almost ever getting struck out that has me impressed. He should be starting 2025 in Full Season Baseball and should find himself far higher in the rankings once again.

Jeremy Rodriguez, SS – He’s hitting once again and should keep himself in and around the upper half of the Met rankings.
Simon Juan, OF – His July came back to earth from his great start but it wasn’t an out and out bad month.