Mets prospects could be the early stars of the show if MLB lockout delays the season

When will the MLB lockout end? It’s delaying the start of one of the most anticipated New York Mets seasons since, well, last year!

Fans are eager to see what this new crop of players can do. They want to see what else Billy Eppler can pull off before the start of the season. They want blood!

If things continue to drag on, there’s a chance we end up missing expected start of the season. It’s quickly approaching. And if things get uglier, we’ll at least have some minor league baseball to look forward to.

Top Mets prospects could be the early stars of 2022 if the MLB season is delayed

We won’t see Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, Khalil Lee, or anyone else on the 40-man roster for the Mets start playing ball until the lockout is resolved. There’s a freeze on 40-man roster activity which means these youngsters whose big league careers have yet to begin or only included a handful of games in Lee’s case will have to wait to start playing.

They’re hardly all the Mets have down on the farm to get excited about. With both the Syracuse Mets and Binghamton Rumble Ponies scheduled to start playing in very early April, we’ll at least have some baseball to digest.

Notably, Francisco Alvarez and Brett Baty will start their seasons uninterrupted. About as untouchable as a prospect can get, neither is on the 40-man roster and available to start playing as soon as they’re told.

Alvarez finished last season at High-A and is a candidate to begin 2022 in Double-A. I don’t understand why they would hold him back. He’s ready for a full year at Double-A with a chance to see some Triple-A action before the season is through.

Baty played almost half of his games in Double-A in 2021. Also very likely to skip ahead a grade—him to Syracuse from Binghamton—he’ll be the leader star once he does arrive.

Prospects to get excited about run deeper than those two. Matt Allan and J.T. Ginn are the pair of pitchers vying for a future rotation spot with the Mets. Allan, coming off of Tommy John Surgery, should come along steadily. His focus will be less on climbing up the farm system and more on getting out there and pitching consistently.

For Ginn, he’s coming off of his first professional season which left many impressed. He should probably join Alvarez in Double-A to begin the season. Already 22 with his 23rd birthday in May, he’s someone we should expect to be knocking on the big league door sooner than later.

Any delay to the MLB season or missed games will hurt. However, these prospects and more will have our full attention.