All longtime prospects eventually retire or find a new home as they hope to one day make it to the major leagues. This is what happened to longtime New York Mets prospect Luke Ritter. He and his 97 home runs, 26 coming in 2024, are headed to the Los Angeles Angels on a minor league deal.
Much of Ritter’s minor league stint with the Mets included low batting average seasons with good, if not better, home run power. His 2024 campaign was so good he appeared to be a candidate for a major league promotion.
Hammering 26 home runs while slashing .257/.369/.480, he was a force in Triple-A for the Syracuse Mets. No promotion ever came. An outrageously high 174 strikeouts in 567 plate appearances had the Mets constantly second-guessing his place within the organization.
Longtime Mets prospect Luke Ritter is moving onto the next phase of his career
A seventh round pick in 2019, he was actually one of the more successful players taken in Brodie Van Wagenen’s first draft class. Led by Brett Baty in round one, the only other player the Mets signed who has even reached the majors from that year is Jake Mangum. He, of course, was traded to the Miami Marlins and had a breakout year for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2025. For those keeping tabs, he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates this offseason.
Drafted as a second baseman, Ritter has seen extensive innings at first base, third base, and both corner outfield positions. He has played every position but catcher and center field professionally, even logging a few games as a pitcher.
Ritter turns 29 in February and after a rough season with Syracuse in 2025, it was probably time for a change of scenery. If he didn’t get an opportunity in 2024, one wasn’t going to come in 2026 after hitting .225/.331/.366 with less power and the same problem with strikeouts: too many of ‘em.
There should be only a little concern the Mets moved on from him. Carlos Cortes was finally cut loose after the 2024 season and he made it to the majors this past year. He hit .309 for the Athletics in just under 100 plate appearances. He had been a Mets minor leaguer since 2018. Will history repeat itself?
