2 NY Mets prospects who’ll crack MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 list midyear, 1 who’ll be just shy

Ryan Clifford will fall just shy of being a top 100 prospect this year

The Mets originally acquired Ryan Clifford from the Houston Astros, alongside Drew Gilbert, in the Justin Verlander trade around the 2023 trade deadline. Clifford entered the 2024 season as a top 100 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s top 100 list but showed off some major red flags in his game, leading to him getting left off of their next top prospect 100 list, and unless he makes some big changes, he’ll likely not appear on a midseason update.

Clifford batted .216/.372/.421 with a .367 wOBA and 131 wRC+ across 541 plate appearances between High-A Binghamton and Double-A Brooklyn. He produced a decent amount of pop, going yard 19 times with a .193 isolated slugging percentage. Clifford drew a walk in 17.6% of his plate appearances, the 12th highest among minor league hitters with 400+ plate appearances.

But Clifford struck out in nearly 30% of his plate appearances with a 29.6% K%. Sure, he was only in his age-20 season and already reached Double-A, but strikeouts have plagued Clifford all throughout the minor leagues. Between 2022 and 2023, he K’d at a 27.9% rate. Defensively, he is limited to mostly first base and left field. He has a strong arm but is a well below-average runner, so his range when playing outfield is limited. 

Clifford has to hit to provide plus value. With the way he has struck out at every level of the minor leagues, it’s easy to see why MLB Pipeline left him off their top 100 list. It’s hard to envision him making MLB Pipeline’s next top 100 prospect update without making a significant improvement regarding his hit tool.