How are these 5 NY Mets prospects acquired at last year's trade deadline doing?

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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.

Ryan Clifford showed a new element to his game, earning him a promotion to Double-A.

SNY's Joe DeMayo reported on Sunday that the Mets are promoting Clifford to Double-A Binghamton. Perhaps it was due to his exceptional plate discipline this season, as he registered a league-best 23.5 percent walk rate and a .412 on-base percentage at High-A Brooklyn that ranked fifth best in the High-A level South Atlantic League.

Clifford was the other prospect the Mets acquired in the Justin Verlander trade last summer and was touted for his raw power. He hit 22 homers last season in 290 plate appearances, yet only hit one home in 102 at-bats this season (perhaps due to the winds on Coney Island). But he made up for hit by hitting .362 on balls in play, so he is at least hitting the ball hard.

At 20 years old, Clifford will be one of the youngest players in all of Double-A when he makes his debut at that level this week. It will give him a chance to showcase his raw power translated into game results among the talents he has shown in the minors, while coaches in Binghamton can make him a more polished prospect.

In MLB Pipeline's new rankings list, Clifford is the No. 78 overall prospect and 4th on the Mets list.

Luisangel Acuna is beginning to settle in at the Triple-A level following a slow start.

After impressing the Mets in limited action this spring, Luisangel Acuna earned a promotion to Triple-A for the start of the season, and he continued to show his exciting athleticism and, more recently, bat-to-ball skills.

Acuna got off to a slow start adjusting to the Triple-A pitching, batting just .210 through his first 20 games. But he has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games, including each of the past nine contests. In his last 14 games, he is batting .262 with 14 runs scored, six extra base hits, and five stolen bases. It seems like he is settling in a bit against the tougher pitching.

Acuna is still splitting his time among the same three positions he's played throughout his pro career. This season, he has played 17 games at shortstop, 10 at second base, and seven in center field. It looks like Acuna could be coming for Jeff McNeil soon as a super-utility star

Luisangel Acuna was the main return piece in the Max Scherzer trade with the Texas Rangers in July, and he is now the Mets No. 5 prospect and MLB's No. 80 prospect.

Marco Vargas has been a consistent factor at the top of the St. Lucie lineup, but he hasn't stayed on the field enough.

Marco Vargas has had an interesting start to his season playing for Class-A St. Lucie. He has been in and out of the lineup due to some injuries. But he hadn't played on consecutive days all season until this weekend, where he continued a strong start.

Vargas, who turns 19 on Tuesday, has played just seven games, in which he has eight hits, nine walks in 35 plate appearances, and 10 runs scored, and has reached base safely in every game played so far, while splitting time between shortstop and second base. If he can avoid more injury luck, we could see Vargas get promoted to High-A Brooklyn by the end of the season. He is that skilled of a hitter, and it has shown despite the unusual layoffs between outings.

Vargas was one of two prospects acquired in the trade that sent David Robertson to the Miami Marlins (alongside catcher Ronald Hernandez) and is currently the 8th ranked prospect in the Mets system.

Jeremy Rodriguez is overwhelming his competition in the Complex League.

Upon his arrival to the Mets in the trade that sent outfielder Tommy Pham to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jeremy Rodriguez experienced a sudden surge in performance, hitting .422 in Dominican Summer League action at just 17 years old. It was good enough for him to start the season 12th on the Mets prospect list on MLB Pipeline.

Last week, he started his second season of pro ball, this time in the Florida Complex League (Rookie class), as one of four players aged 17 or younger (he doesn't turn 18 until July). To his credit, he has played well, albeit in a small sample size. In five games, he has seven hits and five walks in 23 plate appearances, with two extra base hits and four stolen bases. His 197 WRC+ though Sunday's games was the best in the Mets organization at any level. He has hit the ball the other way in more than half of his balls in play so far, which is a good sign.

Rodriguez was primarily a shortstop last season, but this season, he has split playing time between shortstop and third base, and seems to be fine at both positions. This could be one of the steals of the trade deadline if the Mets can get anything out of Rodriguez in the future.

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