3 Rule 5 draft eligible pitchers the NY Mets should keep an eye on

3) Yordanny Monegro

Yordanny Monegro was left unprotected by the Boston Red Sox. But the young right-hander had a strong 2024 season. The only major downside to his performance is the fact he has yet to play at Double-A. Aside from a few innings at the Florida Complex League, he spent nearly his entire year for the Red Sox’ High-A team, the Greenville Drive.

All told, Monego worked to a 2.84 ERA, 3.58 FIP, and 1.04 WHIP across 76 frames. Opponents couldn’t touch Mongero. He struck out 30.9% of batters with a batting average against of just .182. Monegro was one of only 23 pitchers with a K% above 30% and an opponent BA at or below the Mendoza line in 15+ starts. Only nine of those 23 pitchers also had a walk rate below 10%. Monegro was one of those nine, and his BB% was 9.5%. When opponents did get hits off of Monegro, he didn’t give up many long balls. His HR/9 rate was just 0.83. He didn’t drastically over-perform either, as his xFIP sat at 3.40.

Monegro has a four-pitch mix. His four-seamer sits mid-90s, while his two-seam sinker is more of a low-90s pitch. His primary breaking ball is a 12-6 curveball that comes in around the upper-70s. He’ll also throw in a slider around the upper 80s, as well as a change-up. His fastball and curveball are his best offerings, with his slider considered to have average potential, while his change-up is below average. 

Monegro just turned 21 in October. He would be a young, high-upside pick if the Mets decided to take a chance on him. Monegro’s stuff would likely play up out of the bullpen in shorter roles and would hide his lack of great command or a deep repertoire. But given he’s so young, he could eventually improve in those areas, even if he were limited to just a relief role in 2025.