NY Mets prospect who wasn’t even considered for Opening Day is hitting .364 in AAA

There’s something special about Carson Benge even if his start to the 2026 season hasn’t been legendary. Meanwhile down in Triple-A, one of his peers who wasn’t even considered for the New York Mets Opening Day roster has been on fire.

A poor yet limited spring training with the Mets because of his WBC participation, Nick Morabito is caught in a strange place within the system. The team added him to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft back in November. Someone they believe in enough to not give him away for free but not nearly close enough to let him compete for a job, Morabito has done what he has routinely down in his pro career in the minors: rip singles:

He’s now 8 for 22 on the season in Syracuse with a pair of doubles added in for good measure. Speedy and capable of playing a steady center field, he’s a player who may quickly enter the chat as a consideration as the season progresses and the Mets look to give their roster a little something different.

Nick Morabito doesn’t compare to Carson Benge, but he can end up fitting the Mets roster better

As long as right field remains an open battle between Benge and Brett Baty every once in a while, it doesn’t make much sense to promote Morabito. The Mets are already outfielder heavy with Baty’s weaponization. Of course, he needs to hit regularly to make it work.

Morabito is more of a Tyrone Taylor replacement or potentially someone the Mets carry in place of a guy like Jared Young. Right handed as opposed to left like Young, Morabito brings the exact opposite tools to the field. When structuring the Mets roster, neither is perfect, but with Morabito there’s a pathway further down the line.

It’ll be worth noting how Morabito hits against lefties vs. righties in his first Triple-A tour. He had reverse splits last year, batting .293/.364/.419 against righties. Lefties held him to .206/.296/.275.

Rarely have the Mets bought into the idea of reverse splits. Taylor continues to start against lefties despite hitting better against righties than lefties regularly as a member of the Mets. Young is someone the Mets let face a lefty only twice in 47 plate appearances last year.

Morabito’s promising start in Triple-A is one of the few positives as pitchers Jonah Tong and Christian Scott have already been knocked around.