3 best NY Mets prospects David Stearns shouldn’t hesitate to trade in the right deal

Opinions of the best New York Mets prospects can vary from person to person and are sure to change from year to year. It wasn’t long ago that many of the players we’re ready to move on from at the major league level were considered future studs in the minor leagues.

A big hurdle at the MLB trade deadline is deciding which prospects to trade, and which ones are untouchable. There’s little debate about which Mets prospects the team needs to slap a “not for sale” sign on. The same cannot be said about these three others, all currently in MLB Pipeline’s top 10 for the Mets.

1) Ryan Clifford

Ryan Clifford’s appeal is his power. For the second straight full year with the Mets, he has put it on display. Smashing 17 home runs in Double-A thus far following last year’s total of 18, it’s those shortcomings in Clifford’s game that should have the Mets viewing him as a trade chip rather than a future for their major league roster.

Clifford is already profiling more like Adam Dunn than some might like to admit. Batting .224 this season, he has struck out 97 times in 356 plate appearances. It’s not a horrific rate and with such a high walk rate, some may excuse it.

The troubling part of his game is you usually expect things like batting averages to go down when a player reaches the majors and the strikeouts to increase. How much lower can he hit and how many more strikeouts can he compile? He doesn’t plate a premium position, spending most of his time at first base with occasional appearances at both corner outfield spots.

As exciting as the power is, he’s not making any strides in what is essentially his second straight full season in Double-A. Trade him now while another team believes the best is yet to come.