A NY Mets prospect who'll have an A.J. Ewing style rise in 2026

Prospect rankings are like that orderly line at the theme park waiting to get into The Show. Most players inch forward the traditional way, waiting their turn while scouts and projections guess who’s getting on next and map out their wait times. Then someone scans a MagicBand and skips the line entirely. In the New York Mets system, that Lightning Lane pass was recently used by A.J. Ewing, who now finds himself a lot closer to the front of the line.

That kind of jump isn’t random. Lightning Lane access shows up when performance forces the issue, not when a name looks good on paper. Ewing proved last season that a player can skip the usual climb by producing consistently enough to make the line irrelevant. Now the same opportunity exists again, and there’s another Mets prospect quietly putting himself in position to make that kind of move.

Randy Guzman is the Mets prospect poised for an A.J. Ewing–style rise

Guzman’s jump started when the Mets moved him stateside in 2025. Signed as an international free agent in September of 2022, he spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons in the Dominican Summer League, where the numbers stayed fairly quiet. Despite the lack of eye-catching production, the Mets promoted Guzman to the Florida Complex League, and the results quickly changed the conversation.

In rookie ball, Guzman put together the best stretch of his young career. Over 156 at-bats, he slashed .282/.371/.474 with seven home runs and 33 RBIs, showing a much more complete offensive profile. The power showed up consistently, and the overall production finally matched the physical traits that got him signed in the first place. That performance earned him a late-July promotion to Port St. Lucie.

The move to Single-A didn’t slow him down. Guzman hit .333/.381/.604 in 96 at-bats, collecting 18 extra-base hits and driving in 24 runs. The damage came fast and often, and it wasn’t built on cheap contact. While with St. Lucie, Guzman ranked in the top 10 percent of hitters in exit velocity, reinforcing that the power was very real for what looks like the Amazins upcoming first basemen.

Just as important was the improvement of his strikeout rate. In the DSL, Guzman struck out over 30% of the time across two seasons. Last year, across both leagues, that number dropped to 19%. If he can raise his walk rate up from 6% with St. Lucie and keep the strikeouts under control in 2026, a jump to Double-A Binghamton by season’s end is very much on the table.

If the approach holds and the power keeps showing up, the MagicBand is already in Guzman’s hand, and A.J. Ewing might want to make room in the Lightning Lane.