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NY Mets minor league storylines to look forward to in 2021

By Tim Boyle |
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - MARCH 11: Ronny Mauricio #2 of the New York Mets in the dugout before a spring training baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Clover Park at on March 11, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - MARCH 11: Ronny Mauricio #2 of the New York Mets in the dugout before a spring training baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Clover Park at on March 11, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 28: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) New York Mets 2019 third round draft pick Matthew Allan greets team majority owner Fred Wilpon during batting practice prior to a game against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on Friday, June 28, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. The Braves defeated the Mets 6-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JUNE 28: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) New York Mets 2019 third round draft pick Matthew Allan greets team majority owner Fred Wilpon during batting practice prior to a game against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field on Friday, June 28, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. The Braves defeated the Mets 6-2. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

These three minor league storylines could get New York Mets fans’ attention in 2021.

The absence of minor league baseball in 2020 felt strange. As a person who grew up going to minor league games on an almost weekly basis, it was a blow to my baseball fandom. When it comes to covering the New York Mets, it meant a lack of excitement about the future.

Fortunately, there’s a possibility we do get some minor league baseball in 2021 in some capacity. If so, Mets fans will be treated to some intriguing storylines.

Assuming all goes well and we do get to see the team’s minor leaguers take the field, these three storylines are all worth paying attention to.

Are top prospects like Matthew Allan and Francisco Alvarez the real deal?

Matthew Allan and Francisco Alvarez are two of the best prospects in the Mets system. However, neither has played a whole lot of professional baseball.

Allan is a pitcher the Mets built their entire 2019 draft around landing. By drafting mostly college players after selecting him in round number three, they were able to pay him enough of a bonus to convince Allan to skip college and go straight to the pro rankings. At just 19-years-old, there’s a whole lot of baseball in his future.

Alvarez’s journey to the franchise is much different. He’s an amateur free agent signing and catcher with a very high ceiling. If there’s one minor league bat to watch in the coming years, it’s his.

This isn’t the first time we have heard a lot about how great Mets prospects will become. If you’re anything like me, you might still have a few Alex Escobar cards sitting in your closet.

Allan and Alvarez—or the Double-A Battery as I’m sure they could end up being called in the future when the former pitches to the latter—have a few years before they reach the big leagues. In 2021, we should hopefully get to learn a little bit more about how good each of them can become.

ALLENTOWN, PA – MAY 02: The Rawlings glove, New Era cap and Keanon sunglasses of Tim Tebow #15 of the Syracuse Mets sit on the dugout step during a AAA minor league baseball game against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs on May 1, 2019 at Coca Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
ALLENTOWN, PA – MAY 02: The Rawlings glove, New Era cap and Keanon sunglasses of Tim Tebow #15 of the Syracuse Mets sit on the dugout step during a AAA minor league baseball game against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs on May 1, 2019 at Coca Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Who emerges as the next great prospect?

We know Allan, Alvarez, and a few other names in the minor league system. Each year, there does seem to be at least one name that emerges as a promising name with a bright future ahead. Jeff McNeil is a perfect example. Who will be next?

The thing about these unknown prospects is they seem to come from out of nowhere. Nobody, outside of maybe a few diehard fans of the farm system, knew McNeil’s name prior to 2018. Now, he’s a big league stud fans want to see retire as a member of the Mets many years from now.

Equally as exciting on the minor league front could be the jump some well-known names can make. A guy like Ronny Mauricio whom many classify as the best in the system could go from just the best prospect the Mets have to one of the greats in the entire league.

One place I’m curious to watch is how the amateur free agent signings perform. Guys in ranking in the teens such as Alexander Ramirez and Endy Rodriguez have a shot to become one of the next great stars in the league. Although very young, the journey to watch players like them grow into legitimate prospects with numbers to back it up can all begin with how they perform in 2021.

Far behind them are those minor leaguers nobody ever saw coming. Sometimes, it takes a single offseason for a hitter to fix his swinger or a pitcher to learn how to best deceive the opponents. I’m sure there’s one player in the system on a field in a sunny city right now doing just that.

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL – MARCH 11: Ronny Mauricio #2 of the New York Mets in action against the St. Louis Cardinals during a spring training baseball game at Clover Park at on March 11, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL – MARCH 11: Ronny Mauricio #2 of the New York Mets in action against the St. Louis Cardinals during a spring training baseball game at Clover Park at on March 11, 2020 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Which minor leaguer must the Mets make room for in the big leagues?

I’ve mentioned a lot of prospects that can one day become studs in the big leagues. We’ll have to wait for many of the names I dropped here.

Waiting around for something good to happen is for chumps. Let’s be more proactive and get it done!

Even if it is out of our control entirely, there’s going to be a Mets minor leaguer that shines so brightly this year that the organization will have no choice but to promote him to the big leagues.

The 2021 Mets should have one thing on their mind: a championship. Anything less is criminal. This winter is all about building a better ball club to accomplish this goal. Later in the season, a hot-hitting minor leaguer or a flame-throwing pitcher might be the key to push them over the top.

The Mets haven’t made the postseason since 2015. However, when they did, the club got some aid from a pair of rookie pitchers. Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz both debuted in the magical season of 2015. They were midseason call-ups the club needed to make their playoff push and capture the NL East title.

This time, I would like it to be a bat. The most obvious candidate to do so is Mauricio, but what if this source comes from an unlikelier place?

One candidate I could see stepping up and having a good year could be catcher Ali Sanchez. Every organization needs depth at the position. Sanchez could be the one to answer the call and get some innings behind the plate. Outside of him, we may need to hold our breath for a guy off our radar.

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Mets minor league baseball missed an entire year in 2020. This meant less growth for some future stars. In 2021, I’m staying positive and hoping we get to see a lot of fun down on the farm.

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