Mets farm system has done a phenomenal job at developing major leaguers

It seems like a lot of years have passed since the New York Mets had one of the best farm systems in baseball. Prior to the 2015 World Series run, the organization was routinely one of the best. Years of losing will do this.

In more recent years, with many top prospects getting traded away and fewer moves to replenish the farm, the club has seen itself fall into the latter half. They may still be a few miles away from having one of the better minor league systems in the sport, but if we look at the current Mets roster, there’s definitely some kudos to go around.

A lot goes into defining what makes a good farm system in the long-run. For me, seeing players actually develop into credible and productive big leaguers is most important. It doesn’t take long to run through the Mets roster and see just how many men they have promoted from the lowest levels of Single-A up to the major leagues.

A Mets roster full of homegrown talent

Outside of the catching position, the Mets could put a really good team on the field with only homegrown talent. James McCann and J.D. Davis would have to take a seat in favor of Tomas Nido.

With Dominic Smith in left field, Brandon Nimmo in center field, and Michael Conforto over in right, you can fill in the rest of the lineup with guys the Mets helped develop; except at shortstop. However, the Mets were able to turn Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez into Francisco Lindor. They deserve kudos for that.

The same goes for the starting five. Certainly not ideal, we can at least see multiple starting pitchers originally drafted by the organization. Noah Syndergaard wouldn’t quite qualify, but at least he did pitch in the minors for the Mets. We at least owe them a high-five.

The only area the Mets have truly struggled with is with relief pitching. It’s not typically a strength of many organizations. Relievers are failed starters. Many are plucked through waivers, free agency, or trades. Seth Lugo is probably one of the best homegrown relievers the Mets have ever had.

Trouble ahead for the Mets?

In the next year or two, the team could run into a little more trouble. I think we’re approaching a time when the club could lose some of these homegrown major leaguers and have fewer to replace them from the farm.

At the start of last season, we had David Peterson and Andres Gimenez to look forward to. This year, I’m not so sure there’s anyone that should really get us all that excited.

Even if the club has had their share of busts or underperformers reach the big leagues, it’s pretty impressive how many guys are contributing right now. It’s not just high draft picks either. Jacob deGrom and Jeff McNeil were taken much later than those early rounds where scouts can guarantee a handful of All-Star appearances.

Want your voice heard? Join the Rising Apple team!

Write for us!

Somewhere on the farm, someone is doing a really good job at helping these players grow into the studs they have become. As time goes on and we forget they were ever minor leaguers or rookies, we get used to seeing them in no other uniform than a New York Mets one. Years ago, however, they were just fresh-faced kids. It may take a year or two, but we’ll eventually get a new stock.