Jett Williams and the state of the farm system

The trade deadline has come and went and the Mets weren’t major buyers or sellers though they did part with a solid pitching prospect in Tyler Stuart their other losses should have little impact on the future team.  We now pause to look at the players the Mets have in the farm to determine if the farm is on the rise or not. We will be looking at prospects that fall into the following categories: Future Superstars, High Impact Hopes, MLB Contenders, Cups of Coffee and Fringe.

 

Future Superstars:

 

Future Superstars are players that the world knows are going to be big time in the majors. The Mets have had these players in the past Jose Reyes, David Wright, Lastings Milledge, Matt Harvey, Wilmer Flores, Noah Syndergaard, Amed Rosario, Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty. These are players scouts are sure of and while they don’t all pan out there is a consensus of big things to come.

 

The Mets don’t quite have any of these players at the moment but that doesn’t mean the farm is a failure. A team should never have more than two of these players and even having one should not be and is not a common occurrence.

 

High Impact Hopes: 8

 

These are players who should find themselves in the discussion for the Baseball America Top 100 on their current trajectories. Some of these players may not be on the list yet but based on their age and lower league success are looking like they should make this list eventually. I have eight players in the farm ranking in this grouping which is a solid amount.

 

Brandon Sproat, RHSP (AAA), 23 – This prospect was drafted by the Mets in 2022 and turned them down only to be drafted again in 2023. I’ll admit I wasn’t a fan of the move based on the stats I could see but Sproat began the year in Brooklyn and forced his way up to AA and now AAA with tremendous pitching. His first start in AAA was rough but not a reason to hit eject.  Right now, he is the closest thing the Mets have to a future superstar.

 

Ronny Mauricio, 3B/DH (AAA), 23 – Had he not been injured he would not be on the list and the Mets would have had a conundrum of how to field both Mauricio and Vientos on this 2024 squad. With a second knee surgery it’s almost a surety he doesn’t come back for the playoffs but the Mets should have him back at the start of Spring Training. While his defense would likely keep him from ever rating a Future Superstar, his bat and speed make him most thoroughly viable.

 

Jett Williams, SS/2B/OF (AA), 20 – An injury in April derailed the season of the Mets top prospect. He’s not listed as being out for the season but it looks like he’ll be on the shelf at least until the winter and fall leagues begin. There is a shot the Mets send him to Arizona Fall League to see if he can regain some of his lost clock time. He’s still young enough that he could wind up zipping up to be a Future Superstar but lets see him healthy again before we anoint him.

 

Ryan Clifford, 1B/OF (AA), 21 – Clifford is a feast or famine hitter who is a beast when he’s hot. In June and July of this season he was hot and showed a ton of power potential which corresponded with a big uptick in walks. He has also had cold spells and has the typical power hitter problem with striking outs but there are reasonably high hopes for a player who has firmly climbed into the Mets Top 5.

 

Carson Benge, OF (Rookie), 21 – Benge is assigned to the FCL but will undoubtedly start 2025 in Brooklyn. The Mets top pick from the 2024 draft is quite a good player but hasn’t yet performed in the minors. Brooklyn is a rough place to hit but Benge is not a 100% power-based performer.

 

Jeremy Rodriguez, SS (Rookie), 18 – The prospect the Mets acquired for a Tommy Pham rental has been thought of extremely highly and for good reason. He’s a solid all around shortstop who has good hitting tools and could eventually be looked at as an heir to Francisco Lindor for the team. He’s only 18 and he only has played as high as the FCL but he could become a Future Superstar if he performs in Low A baseball next season.

 

Daiverson Gutierrez, C (Rookie), 18 – A past version of myself is counseling that his is a mistake. DSL and Rookie performances are tough to project and perhaps we are being too bullish on players like this with both Rodriguez and Guiterrez but stateside success for DSL players is a very good early sign.

 

Jesus Baez, SS (Advanced A), 19 – The injury ended and absolutely ascendant season for Baez who came from relative obscurity to really become a force in Low A. He earned a promotion to Brooklyn where he sadly got injured to end his season but that only keeps him from reaching even higher in the rankings.

 

MLB Contenders: 12

 

Players in this grouping look to be on target to reach the majors and have ceilings where they should see regular starting playing time. Players from the category often times make jumps in impact to suddenly become stars but that is the exception to the rule. I have twelve names on this list which is probably the easiest list to sneak into and fall off of.

 

Jonah Tong, RHSP (Advanced A), 21 – The Canadian born pitcher is having a great year after emerging in Low A and looking like an Ace he’s continued to pitch well in Advanced A. The numbers took a significant dip from one to the other but the St. Lucie numbers were unrealistically good. He is achieving numbers that suggest he could be a mid-rotation starter.

 

Blade Tidwell, RHSP (AAA), 24 – He looked so good in AA early in the year he earned a promotion to AAA but he’s looked so mediocre since the promotion it’s hard to know where to put him in the rankings. Control is an issue that won’t likely go away and he gives up too many homers to make anyone too happy. There is still hope but the warts are showing.

 

Drew Gilbert, OF (AAA), 23 – Injuries hit Met prospects at bad moments. The Mets would likely have had Gilbert in the majors several times (if not permanently) had he stayed healthy but the smallish prospect is only coming back from injury now. He hasn’t exploded off the page and expectations are starting to temper.

 

Kevin Parada, C (AA), 23 – Freed from the confines of Brooklyn there were hopes, by me, that this would be Parada’s breakout year. He’s not enough of a defensive catcher to make it big if his bat isn’t good and his bat hasn’t been good enough to carry him up to AAA. He’ll be pushed there either way at the end of the season and will have one more full year in the minors to see if he can challenge Alvarez or rebuild his trade value.

 

Simon Juan, OF (Rookie), 19 – One of the bright point prospect stories for the Mets in 2024. He probably deserves a promotion to Low A. He’s young and is once again looking like the scouting report that came back when the Mets signed him.

 

Ronald Hernandez, C (A), 20 – One of my favorite prospects, Hernandez is a catching prospect who does it all. He’s a hitter but he can field and ranks well in both aspects. He doesn’t look like a superstar but easily looks like he could become a starting catcher at the major league level. Could be Alvarez’s backup in a few years.

 

Jonathan Santucci, LHSP (Rookie), 21 – A very good draft pick by the Mets. He’ll be in Brooklyn next season and may go up or down based on his performance. Based on scouting and draft ranking this is where he falls.

 

Luisangel Acuna, 2B/SS/OF (AAA), 22 – Does Acuna belong in the team’s Top 10? Not a chance. Does he still likely linger in the Top 20? It’s debatable but I think there’s more to keep him there than to suggest he should rank lower. He’s also off to a good start in August.

 

Christopher Suero, C (Advanced A), 20 – There’s a lot to like and be happy with. His age, for one thing, at this level and position are not typical. He’s trapped behind Kevin Parada and trapped in Brooklyn. He needs to see what he can do outside of this ballpark offensively before we get overly excited.

 

Edward Lantigua, OF (DSL), 17 – If we could trust the stats from the DSL he’d rank higher but this is as high as you can place him for now. He could be a fast riser in 2025 should he appear stateside and succeed.

 

Joander Suarez, RHSP (AA), 24 – He’s been around and is getting older but he’s been good enough in AA to still have optimism around his name. He should be featured to some degree next Spring.

 

Nat Dohm, RHSP (Rookie), 21 – This is a new draft pick and his scouting report put’s him somewhere in this group. Ultimately this is as high as he can rank without actually having stats to back himself.

 

Cup of Coffee: 15

 

Does this mean that all of these players will reach the majors? No. Does this mean that if they do, they will only be up for a “Cup of Coffee”? No. This means that if players were hurled projectiles they appear to be on a path to reaching the MLB but don’t truly look like they will earn full time roles if and when they reach it. Some of the younger players can still change their trajectories but a number of these names are getting a bit long in the tooth to hang one’s hopes on.

 

Alex Ramirez, OF (MLB), 21 – The Mets called Ramirez up to the majors but he’s not ready yet. He had shown another glimpse at his potential early in the year but has slid back to earth. He could breakout like Mauricio did and has a similar profile offensively but that is a lot to hope for.

 

Boston Baro, Util (A), 19 – Could Baro rank higher? Maybe. He’s had a good year in Low A and isn’t too old for the level. He seems like a player who does a little bit of everything but nothing so well as to stand out for star power.

 

Franklin Gomez, LHSP (A), 19 – The Mets seem to not be sure if they want Gomez to start. He doesn’t have big power to his game but seems to be a candidate to be a back of rotation starter or an impactful reliever.

 

Yovanny Rodriquez, C (DSL), 17 – Has he been the second coming of Alvarez? No. Do DSL numbers mean anything? Not really. Has he gotten better as the season went on? You bet your sweet bippy.

 

Joel Diaz, RHSP (A), 20 – Diaz shows glimpses of being something special and ultimately might wind up becoming it if the Mets switch him into relief. He hasn’t shown enough to suggest he’s likely reaching the majors just yet.

 

Colin Houck, SS (A), 19 – I regret to inform you that at the moment Houck looks like a terrible first draft pick even for a team handicapped by their spending.

 

Nolan McLean, RHSP (AA), 23 – For a few minutes it looked like the Mets had a miniature version of Shohei Ohtani but McLean’s bat fell like a lead balloon in AA and his pitching suffered enormously. His pitching stabilized once he stopped playing at being a two-way player in June.

 

Marco Vargas, 2B (A), 19 – Plenty of reasons remain to hope for Vargas to round into a better prospect but repeat trips to the IL in 2024 have diminished the luster on his prospect star.

 

Stanley Consuegra, OF (AA), 23 – The Mets held him in Brooklyn far too long and may have destroyed his major league chances. He’s performing in Binghamton but not to levels of note and he just needs to do more in a very short timetable.

 

Daviel Hurtado, LHSP (Rookie), 19 – The young lefty was a well thought of international signee but he’s been hit or miss since reaching the minors. He’s included here because he’s worth keeping on the radar.

 

Jacob Reimer, 1B/3B (Advanced A), 20 – He has too much of a hit tool to not be on this list and had he not have been injured for much of the season could have possible made a higher grouping.

 

J.T. Schwartz, 1B/3B (AAA), 24 – To claim he’s a prospect is overstated but he does look like a bat who will get a “Cup of Coffee” and deserves to be on this list for that qualifier alone.

 

Calvin Ziegler, RHSP (Advanced A), 21 – He officially has too much in common with Matt Allan. You have to be able to stay healthy to play baseball.

 

Julio Zayas, C (Rookie), 18 – At 18 his solid year in Rookie ball should be noticed but there isn’t enough substance here to feel like he has a MLB future written in his cards.

 

Mike Vasil, RHSP (AAA), 24 – Do I believe Vasil belongs on the Top Prospect list? No. Statistically I can’t keep him off but I would not rank him highly.

 

Fringe:

 

The final group would be players who might have MLB futures and might factor in future Top 50 rankings but are either lottery tickets at this point or players who rate more as AAAA fodder. There are 35 prospects ranked in the above list and there would be 20-30 players ranked here.  This is where the every team rounds out their Top 50 list from and while you have underrated journeymen players like Jose Peroza or relievers like Nate Lavender, you’ll also have unproven asterisks like Matt Allan, recent draft picks and players in the DSL who have yet to really do anything.

 

Overall the Mets farm system after the trade deadline could have looked a lot better and I’ll forever wonder what the Mets could have gotten if they dangled Jose Quintana and/or Luis Severino out there. I don’t disagree with what the Mets did based on the standings but I do think that trading for Jesse Winker at the expense of Tyler Stuart (who would have either slotted in at the tail end of “High Hopes” or at the front end of “MLB Contenders”) is going to sting. Overall, unless we have some significant injury bounce back I think the Farm system is looking a little weaker at the end of the deadline than it felt at the start of the season.