3 best prospects Mets could trade at the trade deadline

The Mets’ 9th ranked prospect in Dominic Hamel is a pitcher that can make a meteoric rise in the minors.

We discussed last month that Connor Grey would be a good candidate to be called up to make his major league debut with the Mets as someone who could replicate Tylor Megill’s surprising success last season.

The Mets have another such prospect in Class-A St. Lucie that could be primed for such that in Dominic Hamel, who would also make a good trade candidate.

The Mets’ saw Hamel dominate the Missouri Valley Conference for Dallas Baptist and lead his team to the Super Regionals last summer as their ace. Hamel went 13-2 with a 4.22 ERA. He was second in Division I baseball last year with 13 wins and ninth with 136 strikeouts. Only Kumar Rocker had more wins than Hamel last year at the collegiate level. The Mets saw his winning and rewarded him by selecting him with their third-round pick in the draft.

On the hill, he has a fastball that can top 96 miles an hour, and he has a good blend of off-speed pitches in his curveball that is in the mid-70s and a slider in the low-80s. He has struck out more than a quarter of the batters he’s faced this season in Class-A, but his control needs work, as he’s walked 4.6 batters per nine innings.

However, his last two starts were the best among his 12 this season, allowing just three runs in 13.1 innings pitched with 14 strikeouts. Hamel’s stock has risen in the last two weeks and could be in line for a promotion soon if he replicates his last two starts.

He is the Mets’ No. 9 prospect on MLB.com, and if teams selling at the deadline are smart (and we’re looking at the Royals, the Pirates, and the Nationals), they’d send a scout or two to Florida to watch him pitch.