Mets prospect season review: Alex Ramirez took a nosedive in 2023

Alex Ramirez looked like he was going to shoot up through the minor leagues. The teenage New York Mets prospect finished his 2022 season in High-A with the Brooklyn Cyclones while capping off a strong sophomore season as a professional. He combined to hit .281/.346/.436 with 11 home runs and 71 RBI.

The thing about prospects is there can sometimes be a wall they end up hitting. Ramirez seemed to smack into his this year while spending all season with Brooklyn.

No longer considered a top 10 Mets prospect most places, it has as much to do with the additions the organization made to the farm system as it does his own performance. Ramirez batted only .221/.310/.317 this past year with 7 home runs and 53 RBI. He stole as many bases, 21, but aside from that and crossing the plate an additional 4 times, it was an hugely disappointing season for a guy who was well on his way to becoming a big-time Mets prospect.

NY Mets prospect Alex Ramirez took a nosedive in 2023

Prior to this season, Baseball America had him ranked as the 92nd best prospect in all of baseball. MLB.com had him at 96 and Baseball Prospectus Pongo'ed him at 101. He has fallen well out of the top 100 and behind several players brought in through trade this summer plus additional draft picks. There are also risers like Christian Scott who will probably pass him when lists are updated later this year.

Ramirez is looking more like a corner outfielder than a center fielder which is an extra disappointment. He has good range thanks to his speed but he made 5 errors this year. Minor league fielding statistics aren’t as readily available and the official scorers tend to be a little less kind in awarding hits anyway. Ramirez did, however, play 17 games in left field which was a somewhat new position for him. He’d only appeared in 8 prior to this season with all of his other defensive innings coming in center field or right field. As expected, he has been better in both corner spots.

A 21st birthday in January does at least provide us with some hope. Ramirez is incredibly young and even the best of prospects can have an off-year. However, the addition of Drew Gilbert to the organization and Jett Williams moving to the outfield from shortstop bump Ramirez out of the picture as the most intriguing Mets outfield prospect they have.

Next season will be a big one for Ramirez to show everyone he truly is a legitimate prospect. Will the Mets still promote him to another level or hold him back for a couple of weeks before the competition gets even tougher?