Unsung NY Mets prospect is worth keeping an eye on after winter and spring results

Performances in different winter leagues don’t always preview what’s to come for the regular season either in MLB or minor leagues. Nevertheless, in these cold and short days without any baseball being played stateside, we can turn our attention to places like the Dominican Winter League for some competitive games. Checking in on how some New York Mets farmhands performed this winter, unsung prospect Luis Moreno had one of the better pitching performances in the league.

The 25-year-old is at an important part of his professional career. Having only sipped from the Triple-A coffee in each of the last two seasons with 9.1 total innings in 4 appearances, this coming season is his opportunity to prove himself as a true future big league arm. Awarded with Rookie of the Year honors in the LIDOM, he’s an arm to keep an eye on this year as a potential arm to use down the road.

Luis Moreno can do himself a big favor by carrying his winter success with him back to the Mets

Moreno was 2-2 with a 1.83 ERA in 10 starts and a relief appearance for the Estrellas Orientales. A 0.96 WHIP, 3.4 walks per 9, and 8.5 strikeouts per 9 came along with it. Somewhat slow to progress through the Mets system, a very good 2022 season which saw him finish with a 2.84 ERA working as a starter and reliever helped him advance through St. Lucie and Brooklyn and start the 2023 season in Binghamton. Some struggles in Double-A in 2023 and results only a tad better in 2024 have had him somewhat stuck at the level ever since.

The Mets haven’t been super quick to cut players, especially pitchers, who’ve lingered in the minor league system for several years. They were rewarded last year with their patience with Dedniel Nunez who, in his age 28 season, became a late-blooming relief addition we’re all hopeful has better days ahead of him.

There’s no need to start moving Moreno up your personal top prospect lists just yet. The competition, while intense, isn’t quite what he’ll face in Triple-A. As impressive as his 1.83 ERA looks to go along with Rookie of the Year honors for the league, it was tied for the 32nd best in the six-team league. However, his 37 strikeouts did rank sixth among all pitchers to help prove he wasn’t just facing a lot of nothing but scrubs. This is a league where Juan Lagares was one of only a handful to finish the season batting over .300.

On the outside looking in at the moment, the chapter of a potentially noteworthy year on the farm for the Mets has been written with how he performed over the offseason. In a league where he was one of the youngest pitchers, he made a name for himself. Mets fans will know him best for striking out all 6 batters he faced in a February spring training game. It came shortly after a far poorer performance, his only other one for the team this spring. Who's to say which version we get in the minors?