NY Mets prospects are taking run prevention seriously in spring training

New York Mets prospects have had an opportunity to play early and often in spring training games. One home game and two on the road, it has been mostly depth stepping between the lines.

Fortunately, the future is bright. The steady approach with the veterans has given us a chance to see some of the younger Mets get into more innings. We’ve been rewarded with some pretty good defense, too.

Three notable Mets prospects are taking run prevention seriously in spring training

Monday’s game ended with Ryan Clifford at first base doing anything but giving us flashbacks to Lucas Duda in the 2015 World Series. Heck, his throw quieted down the ongoing yearning for Pete Alonso.

The double play ended the game with a broken piece of lumber headed his way. Clifford, a prospect who is known more for his power than his defense, didn’t fumble in one of his early opportunities at a position where the Mets will have plenty of clearance.

He wasn’t the only one to shine to start off the week. Nick Morabito, out in left field, dared to go up against the stands to make a catch.

Already on the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, Morabito’s place on the depth chart is questionable because of what he does best. He can field and run. He has shown an ability to hit for average. He was the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2024. Last year was good, but included a huge uptick in strikeouts.

Morabito, as many fans noted, feels like the automatic replacement for Tyrone Taylor whose contract expires at the end of 2026. In fact, if things go poorly enough with Taylor, he could always be there to replace him sooner than next year.

Finally, over the weekend, we had this heads up play courtesy of A.J. Ewing on an errant throw.

No, it wasn’t a diving catch. It was a heads up play that showed some good instincts.

Spring training is a time to jump to some big conclusions with young players or veterans on minor league deals. When Jose Rojas dropped Bo Bichette’s imperfect throw on Saturday, he became someone fans were already prepared to never see at first base again.