Below is an analysis of the prospects in the farm system of the New York Mets. Scouting reports were compiled with information provided by industry sources as well as my own observations. This is the fourth year we’re delineating between two anticipated relief roles, the abbreviations for which you’ll see in the “position” column below: MIRP for multi-inning relief pitchers, and SIRP for single-inning relief pitchers. The ETAs listed generally correspond to the year a player has to be added to the 40-man roster to avoid being made eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Manual adjustments are made where they seem appropriate, but we use that as a rule of thumb.
A quick overview of what FV (Future Value) means can be found here. A much deeper overview can be found here.
All of the ranked prospects below also appear on The Board, a resource the site offers featuring sortable scouting information for every organization. It has more details (and updated TrackMan data from various sources) than this article and integrates every team’s list so readers can compare prospects across farm systems. It can be found here.
Other Prospects of Note
Grouped by type and listed in order of preference within each category.
Arm Strength in St. Lucie
Juan Arnaud, RHP
Wilson Lopez, RHP
Ernesto Mercedes, RHP
There are quite a few hard-throwing young pitchers at the very bottom of New York’s system, but their lack of command was a barrier to them making the main section of the list. Arnaud, 20, sits 94-97 with below-average extension but the best movement of this group. Lopez is a 21-year-old Colombian righty who has touched 100, but it lacks movement. Mercedes is a 20-year-old righty who has K’d nearly two batters per inning in a piggyback role at St. Lucie. He’s been up to 98 but has trouble timing his delivery.
2023 Day Two College Arms
Ryan Ammons, LHP
Jack Wenninger, RHP
Wyatt Hudepohl, RHP
Zach Thornton, LHP
Austin Troesser, RHP
Ammons was Boston’s 2023 10th round pick out of Clemson before he was traded to the Mets for Rule 5 pick Justin Slaten. He’s a drop-and-drive style lefty with a 90 mph upshot fastball. Wenninger is a changeup artist who sits 92-93; he was the Mets’ sixth rounder last year out of Illinois. Hudepohl, their fourth rounder from UNC Charlotte, has a due north arm slot and a hard 87 mph slider. Thornton, their fifth rounder from Grand Canyon, is a tall, skinny lefty with a smooth delivery who could conceivably throw harder on a pro strength program. Fourth round comp pick Troesser is a soft-tosser whose fastball has big vertical movement.
Rookie-Level Hitters
Branny De Oleo, SS
Justin Ramirez, OF
Vladi Gomez, UTIL
Yensi Rivas, UTIL
De Oleo, currently in the FCL, is a projectable shortstop with bat-to-ball feel. His free-swinging approach might prevent his bat-to-ball skills from really playing, which is why he’s not yet on the main section of the list. Ramirez struck out a lot in the 2023 DSL and is back there again, but he’s a well-built outfielder with plus bat speed and probably the most explosive swing from the DSL group. Gomez (entering his second pro season) and Rivas (his first) are ultra-twitchy medium-framed hitters whose swings have natural loft.
One-Trick Ponies
Paul Gervase, RHP
Felipe De La Cruz, LHP
Eric Orze, RHP
Gervase is a 6-foot-10 righty with a low slot. He’s a nightmare in on the hands of righties and could be a unique release reliever. De La Cruz, currently assigned to Brooklyn, will touch 98 and sit 94-96 as a starter. He’s an athletic little lefty who needs a good second pitch. Orze, at Syracuse, has a plus-plus changeup and struggles to throw strikes.
Good Org Bats
JT Schwartz, 1B
Nick Morabito, OF
Jake Zitella, 1B
Rhylan Thomas, OF
Matt Rudick, OF
Schwartz lacks typical power for a first baseman but is otherwise a good, selective hitter with a career .270 average through Double-A. Morabito was a $1 million bonus high school signee in the 2022 second round. He’s a speedy outfielder with an oppo-geared swing that I am (and have been) skeptical will play against upper-level pitching. Zitella can really swing it, but he’s a righty-hitting first baseman. The Chicago high schooler was still a good draft find for $200,000. Thomas and Rudick are undersized upper-level outfielders without corner outfield pop.
Perozo, Parada (Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off)
Kevin Parada, C
Vincent Perozo, C
Parada was once a top draft prospect who has regressed as a hitter and stagnated as a defender in pro ball. When he was drafted, it was thought that he’d hit enough to be a decent big leaguer even if he had to move out from behind the plate, but that isn’t happening. Perozo is a low-ball power-hitting catcher who hasn’t been able to hit his way out of Low-A in three seasons there.
System Overview
This is an average system in most respects. Its overall depth, as well as the number of Top 100 guys and impact prospects (40+ FV or better), hovers around average, trending down from last year because of the bumper crop of rookies who graduated out of the system in 2023. Arrows are up for pitchers across the system, including guys who haven’t been with the org for very long. The arrival of Eric Jagers, who was hired as the director of pitching development at the end of 2022 and was promoted to vice president of pitching this year, coincides with the beginning of these changes. It will be interesting to watch the Honorable Mention pitchers who are currently in St. Lucie as a litmus test for what attributes the new dev techniques are more apt to improve. Will the hard-throwing hurlers improve their craftsmanship, or can the pitchability college guys start throwing harder?
This system is pretty likely to get better around the trade deadline, as the big league team is currently seven games under .500 and has several expiring contracts, too many to list here. You can see the impact that Mets pro scouting made with last season’s trades, as five of the 40+ FV or better prospects in the system were acquired during that span, including Drew Gilbert and Jeremy Rodriguez. The Rodriguez acquisition (from Arizona for Tommy Pham) is especially interesting because it indicates the Mets are willing to make a DSL prospect the centerpiece of a deal, which isn’t typically the case across baseball.
