Before the 2023 season began the Mets had one of the lower rated minor league systems in MLB. Not that there weren’t any players of value, but the overall depth of the Mets farm system was thin. After an awful 7-19 June, the Mets decided to sell off assets and replenish their minor league system.
As the Mets enter the 2024 season the team’s minor league system is now ranked in the top third with ESPN listing the system at No. 8 and Baseball America ranking them 11th.
How did the Mets farm system get so much better so quickly?
Let’s not forget that the Mets farm system delivered an everyday and future All-Star catcher in Francisco Alvarez who was the #1 prospect in all of baseball in 2022. Can’t miss prospect Brett Baty has yet to deliver and perennial prospect Mark Vientos is still around looking for a position in the lineup and on the field. The team hopes for big contributions from all three this coming season.
The Athletic’s Keith Law did an excellent job reviewing the Mets top 20 prospects. The list includes highly rated players brought in after trading both Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer during the 2023 season.
New to the Mets organization
Luisangel Acuna – Acquired in the Max Scherzer trade, by now everyone knows that Ronald Acuna’s younger brother is an up-and-coming player himself. He plays shortstop – as do many of the Mets best prospects. Acuna has been working out at 2nd base and it would not be a surprise to see Acuna play for the Mets later this season. He’s ranked as The Athletic’s 45th best prospect in baseball.
Drew Gilbert – Thanks to the trade of Justin Verlander, the Mets picked up a prospect the Astros desperately tried to keep. A first-round pick in 2022 out of Tennessee, Gilbert is also a top 100 prospect. The Mets think he might be their future center fielder.
Ryan Clifford – the other cornerstone from the Verlander trade, Clifford already has big-league power and can play both outfield and first base. When he moved to high A Brooklyn, he struggled a bit but he’s 20 and talented.
Those three players are principally responsible for moving the Mets farm system into the top third but that’s not to offer that there are not several very promising players who will be trying to put themselves into the mix for later 2024 or 2025.
The holdovers that are still potential gems in MLB
Jett Williams INF – is the top ranked prospect in the Mets system by The Athletic at number 30. He too plays shortstop, and while being listed at 5’ 6”, has displayed good power and excellent speed. With Acuna in the fold, it will be interesting to see if the Mets tip their hand by asking Williams to change positions or they just leave him at shortstop where he’d have more future trade value.
Rony Mauricio INF – his unfortunate season-ending injury in winter ball robbed both he and the team of a talented player looking as if he were ready to take off. He’s the third baseman of the future if Brett Baty does not grab a firm hold on that job this season.
Christian Scott RHP – likely the readiest of the Mets pitching prospects, he’s got an array of pitches all of which he can control. He needs to build up his arm if he’s to be a future rotation starter. A few more injuries to the starting staff might have Scott in the rotation at least for part of the 2023 season.
Kevin Parada C – Now that Francisco Alvarez has secured the starting job at catchers – possibly for the next 10 years, the highly regarded Parada is more of a trading chip than a player who will contribute this or next season barring injury to Alvarez. This is a big minor-league season for Parada as he’s lost a little of the luster he had when the Mets picked him in the first round in 2022.
Blade Tidwell RHP – has a big arm, plus stuff, but has trouble finding the plate. He pitched 116 innings combined in 2023 which is good, but the Mets are hoping he harnesses his pitches so that he can really contribute at the MLB level.
Mike Vasil RHP – his fastball is 92-94 so he needs the rest of his arsenal to be on point to succeed at AAA and MLB. Vasil provides insurance and could throw for the Mets this season.
Dominic Hamel RHP – can bring it up to 98 M.P.H. but like Nuke Laloosh isn’t always sure where it’s going. The Mets have been waiting for Hamel to make a leap forward for a couple of years.
There are others on Keith Law’s list of note but these are the most likely players you might see play in Queens this year.
Also worth mentioning is 19-year-old Colin Houck (SS-3B) a former HS quarterback, who the Mets selected in 2023 with the 32nd pick in the draft. Houck won’t be 20 years old until this September so he’s still a couple of years away from vying for a major league roster spot. But the organization is very high on him.
