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3 rookies guaranteed to make their debut in 2023
This season, the New York Mets have seen exciting prospect Brett Baty make his MLB debut. It was a memorable one as he homered on his first swing in a key victory over the Braves.
We've also seen the debuts of Nick Plummer, Jose Butto, and even Nate Fisher. All three players have had an impact on the 2022 club.
Looking forward to next season, there are even more prospects on their way to the bigs.
1) NY Mets rookie guaranteed to make his debut in 2023: Eric Orze
Eric Orze was the Mets fifth round pick in the pandemic-shortened 2020 MLB draft. Orze was the final played picked by the Mets and is the only player in the organization remaining from that draft.
Virtually every Mets reliever not named Drew Smith and Joely Rodriguez is hitting free agency. This means that the Mets will likely have to revamp a good chunk of their bullpen. This gives Orze a legitimate shot at making the 2023 Opening Day roster.
This season has been up and down for the right hander. He got off to a slow start but since June 1st he has a 3.28 ERA in 24.2 innings pitched (17 appearances).
He's shown great strikeout stuff (12.7 K/9) and has done a nice job limiting walks (2.2 BB/9). What's plagued Orze this season is the home run ball. He's allowed 1.8 HR/9 which could be worse, but isn't great. Fortunately, he's allowed just three home runs since June 1st.
The 24 year old would be a cheaper option to try out in the bullpen for next season. I think he might've gotten a shot this season but he spend over a month on the sidelines with injury.
For a team in dire need of depth, the 19th ranked prospect in the Mets system would provide quality depth.
2) NY Mets rookie guaranteed to make his debut in 2023: Mark Vientos
There are a lot of questions about Mark Vientos and his upcoming debut. I felt he had done well enough to warrant a call-up this season, but the Mets disagreed.
I have no idea what team Mark Vientos will be on to make his MLB debut. I have no idea what position he will play when he does make his debut. I just know he is going to make his debut in 2023. The bat is too good to ignore.
Vientos got off to a slow start just like Orze, but since May 1st has slashed .304/.380/.568 with 22 home runs and 63 RBI. That's a very large sample size of elite production all in AAA.
Vientos has also crushed left-handed pitching all season, slashing .336/.409/.746 with 13 of his 23 total home runs. With the Mets having a need against lefties, it's puzzling that they didn't at least give him a chance before the deadline with how poorly J.D. Davis was playing.
This also makes it confusing why he wasn't dealt at the trade deadline since his bat is so clearly MLB-ready.
The one flaw Vientos had offensively was his strikeout rate which he has improved drastically as the season has progressed.
The only reason I can think of that he is still in AAA is because of his defense. Vientos came up as a third baseman but it's pretty clear he couldn't play there at the highest level. The Mets have tried him in left field and at first base, but he just doesn't have a position.
With Daniel Vogelbach and Darin Ruf both under contract next season as well, it's hard to see a path to playing time for Vientos in Flushing. This could mean he is traded, or the Mets could just cut bait with Ruf who has struggled so far in Queens.
The seventh ranked prospect in the Mets system will make his debut for a team in 2023. Not sure it'll be this one though.
3) NY Mets rookie guaranteed to make his debut in 2023: Francisco Alvarez
We all knew he'd be on this list. Francisco Alvarez has made a dramatic rise through the Mets system and is now not only the number one ranked prospect in this organization, he's the number one overall prospect according to mlb.com.
An elite catching prospect is hard to come by, and it appears the Mets now have two of them with Alvarez and Kevin Parada.
In the 2023 season, I expect James McCann to be on another team while Francisco Alvarez is the Opening Day catcher.
Will this happen? I'm not sure. McCann is still under contract for two seasons after this one. I'm also not positive Alvarez will be on the team on Opening Day. What I do know is at some point in the 2023 season, Francisco Alvarez will take over as the number one catcher in Flushing and I can't wait.
McCann and Tomas Nido are both really solid behind the plate. Nido especially is an elite defensive catcher. The problem is, neither of them can hit at all. McCann has a .515 OPS while Nido has a .534 OPS.
Alvarez has had a hard time adjusting to AAA. Even with that hard adjustment he has a .719 OPS in 32 games. I'm confident if he was called up this season he'd be a much better option offensively than both of the Mets catchers. He's tripled their home run total in 244 fewer at bats.
The 20 year old isn't with the team right now because of his defense. Alvarez still has work to do in that area of the game and doesn't have a perfect bat either.
When he gets more comfortable in AAA, I expect him to take off just like he did in AA. The Mets have no reason to rush him and to their credit they haven't.
Alvarez will provide something the Mets haven't had for years. A quality catcher. His debut will come in 2023, hopefully on Opening Day.
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