3 Mets prospects eligible for the Rule 5 Draft the team should consider adding to the 40-man roster

3) NY Mets prospect Brandon McIlwain has had an impressive and unlikely rise through the system

Brandon McIlwain is an undrafted amateur free agent signing whose eligibility for the Rule 5 Draft comes around this December. He hasn’t torn the cover off the ball, however, this year’s performance has made him a much more viable candidate to at least sip some cups of big league coffee.

McIlwain is now in Triple-A after slashing .260/.342/.394 in 360 Double-A at-bats. He added 7 home runs and 47 RBI which already tied his previous high in dingers and surpassed the RBI total.

An athletic outfielder and two-sport athlete in college playing quarterback, the ceiling for what McIlwain would accomplish as a professional baseball player already seems to be smashed. His college athletic career didn’t work out the way he had hoped, which actually led to the Mets having the ability to take a chance on him when McIlwain went undrafted.

In his 114 plate appearances in Triple-A, McIlwain has hit .247/.412/.494 with 5 home runs. He has added 8 stolen bases which is a bit of a surprise considering he had 9 one level down.

As a fifth outfielder, McIlwain might intrigue teams enough to stash on the roster for those dirty duties of replacing inferior defenders or pinch running. The Mets look like they already won by signing him. The next phase is to capitalize on his minor league success.