There’s no doubt who the next NY Mets prospect to enter every top 100 list will be

The New York Mets are blessed with one of the most highly regarded farm systems in the game. Currently, New York has four prospects ranked in MLB Pipeline's top 100, with all four placing in the top-half of those rankings.

However, that impressive crop is about to get wiped out. Top prospect Nolan McLean and No. 46 overall Jonah Tong have already made their big league debuts and figure to be regular contributors in 2026. Other top-100 entries, Carson Benge and Jett Williams figure to be not far behind them.

Fortunately, the Mets' system isn't top-heavy. Instead, the organization has collected talent at every level. A.J. Ewing might be a favorite to claim the title as the Mets' next top prospect, but he's not alone, with youngsters like Jack Wenniger, Jacob Reimer, and 2025 first-rounder Mitch Voit all waiting in the wings.

However, it won't be any of them who will be the next entrant on top-100 lists across the industry. Instead, that honor will go to Elian Peña, the teenage phenom who signed for a whopping $5 million out of the Dominican Republic last January.

Elian Peña is poised to become the next Mets' top-100 prospect

The lefty-swinging shortstop got off to a slow start in 2025 while toiling in the Dominican Summer League, leading some to jump to the foolish conclusion that he was a bust. By the end of the season, they couldn't have been more wrong.

Peña put up a .292/.421/.528 line while playing 55 games and logging 223 plate appearances in his home country. He added nine homers and 21 steals, showcasing his five-tool potential.

Most impressive was his exceptional plate discipline. Peña looked wise beyond his years, posting identical 16.1% strikeout and walk rates. Not too shabby for a player who didn't turn 18 until October 19. That plate discipline bodes well for Peña maximizing his raw power and hit tool as he ages and advances in competition. Most players his age tend to swing out of their shoes in an attempt to impress and take advantage of their raw talent, so the maturity to let the game come to him rather than force the issue is incredibly promising.

Peña hails from Azua, a small Dominican City approximately 60 miles west of the capital of Santo Domingo. Despite being a relatively unknown city in the baseball hotbed, it has produced a surprising number of MLB talents. The most comparable to Peña is 19-year-old Leo De Vries, the Athletic's top prospect and No. 3 overall on MLB Pipeline's top-100.

De Vries signed in January of 2024 for a sum of $4.2 million with the San Diego Padres and is also a shortstop with a well-advanced sense of strike zone recognition, which has allowed him to put on a show and rise up to Double-A following his inclusion as part of the package that sent Mason Miller to the Padres.

To expect the same meteoric rise from Peña would be unreasonable, but his maturity as a baseball player and loud tools indicate he has a very bright future, one that will involve him crashing the gates of the top-100 very soon.