3 NY Mets prospects who should be more untouchable than most realize

The New York Mets have a strong farm system, with many obviously untouchable prospects that they’ll likely not even consider trading. Nolan McLean, Carson Benge, Jett Williams, Jonah Tong, and Brandon Sproat are likely unavailable for trade, save for an utterly insane return. However, they shouldn’t be the only untouchable prospects in the Mets’ system. They have a handful more young players who should be mostly off-limits in trade talks this offseason.

1) Will Watson

Will Watson is one of the Mets’ many talented pitching prospects. Drafted in the seventh round of the 2024 draft out of the University of Southern California, the right-hander’s first extended look in the minor leagues couldn’t have gone better. Not only did he perform well, but he went from A-Ball to Double-A in just one season.

Watson logged 121.1 innings, working to a 2.60 ERA, 3.53 FIP, and 1.20 WHIP. His 11.3% walk rate is about the only blemish to speak of when it comes to his performance in 2025. He also struck out nearly 30% of batters he faced, with a 28.5% K%, and allowed home runs at just a 0.39-per-nine-innings pace. Watson boasted a 46% ground ball rate as well.

Watson has a wide variety of pitches at his disposal. Both his four-seam and two-seam fastballs sit mid-90s. His slider comes in around the mid-80s, and his change-up averages out around the upper-80s. Watson also added a cutter, but it’s still a work in progress. All three of his primary pitches gained velocity, according to MLB Pipeline. Baseball America’s minor league Stuff+ rankings had Watson among the top 150, coming in at a strong 111. Watson also has good athleticism, given that he was a shortstop/pitcher early in his college career.

Watson’s pitch mix, velocity, overall pitch quality, and athleticism should make him extremely hard to pry away from the Mets in a trade this offseason. He is arguably their best pitching prospect outside their top trio of young pitchers, that being McLean, Sproat, and Tong, per MLB Pipeline’s Mets prospect rankings. Watson could be in the Major Leagues as soon as next year, given how quickly he has already flown through the minor leagues.