Latest top NY Mets prospect list gives 21-year-old lefty from Cuba overdue credit

MLB Pipeline updated their top prospect list for the New York Mets, excluding recently signed draft picks and not taking into account how much will change in the next two weeks. The Mets should add even more names to the list by the end of the day on August 3rd with a priority being to add as much youth to the system as they can.

There aren’t too many surprises on the list. Jonah Tong remains number one even if his season performance hasn’t justified it. Elian Pena has jumped up. The struggling duo of Dylan Ross and Ryan Lambert barely cracked the top 30.

Much lower in the system is somewhat of an unknown, Daviel Hurtado. An amateur free agent from Cuba signed by the Mets in the pre-David Stearns era, he’s ranked at a distant 18th. This is merely a placeholder. He’s putting together a performance so good this year that to not move him up would be criminal.

Get to know Mets prospect Daviel Hurtado before he explodes

In his third professional season, Hurtado has spent most of the year in High-A Brooklyn. In 45 innings there, mostly as a starter, he’s 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA. A 2.2 BB/9 and 8.6 K/9 rate are impressive. His MLB Pipeline scouting report praises his ability to induce ground balls.

Hurtado pitched 5 shutout innings with 1 hit allowed in mid-June that included 11 ground balls. That ability seems to mark whether he is successful or not. His next outing included 10 fly balls and 4 earned runs charged in 4.1 innings.

Hurtado was already a riser last season, posting a 2.06 ERA in 65.2 innings. An even better 10.3 K/9 rate last year, he may have swapped some of the punchouts for better control. His walk rate in 2025 was at 3.3 BB/9. In addition to walking fewer batters, he’s not giving up many hits. At just 5.5 H/9, Hurtado may forget how to throw out of the stretch.

In a year where the Mets farm system has seen its ranking drop as players graduate to the majors or underperform, it’s lower-level prospects like Hurtado who can help save the reputation. With a major league ETA of 2028, he could be closer than we realize.

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