A checkup on the top Mets prospects acquired in last summer's trades

One of the landmark periods of the New York Mets under Steve Cohen came last summer with a trade deadline sell-off for the ages. The Mets traded two future Hall of Fame pitchers and other key contributors while acquiring a slew of quality prospects to enrich a farm system that needed some firepower.

So how are these top prospects doing right now? Most of the early returns among the future stars of the Mets have been far more encouraging than discouraging, thanks to the talents the Mets identified in scouting them ahead of last summer's deadline.

Drew Gilbert played well for a week until he pulled his hamstring.

Drew Gilbert, one of the two prospects acquired in the Justin Verlander trade with the Houston Astros last summer, played a big part in Double-A Binghamton's push to their league championship series. He hit .325 and had a WRC+ of 167 in 35 games in Binghamton last season. As a result, got promoted to Triple-A Syracuse to start his 2024 campaign.

This season in Syracuse, Gilbert homered in his second at-bat of the season on Opening Night and had six hits and 10 strikeouts in 25 at-bats this before pulling his right hamstring on April 6. The former first-round pick out of Tennessee has not played since and is probably out of game action until around June 1. When he gets back into action, the team will have to monitor his contact rate, as his 35.7 percent strikeout rate can be corrected.

The Mets' No. 2 prospect (and MLB's No. 43 prospect as of new rankings that dropped this weekend) was on track to be promoted to the major leagues at some point this season, but who knows if he still needs more seasoning in Triple-A before he is ready to make the majors.