Mets prospect Carlos Cortes primed for a breakout season in 2021

In case you haven’t heard, New York Mets prospect Carlos Cortes has had himself quite the offseason with his performance in the Australian Baseball League with the Sydney Blue Sox. While Cortes has not been the most talked-about prospect in the Mets system before his breakout performance with the Blue Sox this winter, he has put himself on the radar of many scouts.

In Cortes’ 14 games played he produced a ridiculous .392/.429/.706 slash line with three home runs and 16 RBI’s. Whether this is the beginning of a true breakout campaign in 2021 for the 23-year old remains to be seen, but Cortes has an offensive background since his college days at the University of South Carolina justify this performance as not being an outlier.

In 2019, which was Cortes’ last full season of baseball, he had finished second in the Florida State League with 182 base hits, which went along with 11 home runs and 68 RBI’s in 127 games played. What makes these numbers all the more impressive was that this was his first full season in pro ball. That performance had Cortes placed as the Mets’ 17th best prospect according to MLB.com in 2020, but surely his stock has risen since January, and I would not be surprised to see him ranked a little higher when their 2021 rankings are revealed.

With his offensive upside, Carlos Cortes has the ability to establish himself as one of the best prospects in the New York Mets farm system in 2021.

Despite his smaller stature at 5’7, MLB.com’s scouting report has high praise for Cortes’ abilities at the plate, which further solidifies his potential as a Major Leaguer down the line.

“Cortes may be undersized, but he can flat-out hit from the left side of the plate. Cortes has natural bat-to-ball skills, knows how to manipulate the barrel, and consistently executes a short, compact swing to generate hard contact to all fields. Possessing more raw power than his 5-foot-7 frame indicates, Cortes began to apply it during games in his first full season.”

Cortes has mainly played second base in the Mets system since being drafted in the third round of the 2018 MLB Draft. However, his primary home in college was left field and he saw a little bit more time in the outfield with the Blue Sox this past winter than at the second base position. Cortes had played 50 total innings in the outfield in comparison to the 48 innings he played at second base. Interestingly enough most of Cortes’ time was spent in right field not left, and he also spent some time at first base for the Australian ball club.

When Minor League players begin reporting to camp this spring, many eyes among the Mets brass are going to be placed on Cortes after his breakout offensive performance In Australia. But more importantly, the versatility that was shown defensively may expedite his arrival to the big leagues. Cortes could provide value as a super-utility player for the Mets down the road who can play all over the diamond with high offensive upside.

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If there is one prospect in the Mets system that you should not sleep on in 2021, it’s Carlos Cortes. The future is bright for the former Gamecock and I believe he can be a factor at the Major League level as soon as 2022 for the Amazins’.