The next wave of Mets prospects is about to make an impact

For all the letdown and suffering New York Mets fans have endured, there is one part of the organization that has quietly established a strong track record in recent years.

Stretching back over the past decade, the Mets have shown a propensity to find and draft quality talent through amateur scouting. In fact, a large portion of last year’s roster was homegrown – that is, drafted and developed by the Mets. These not only include first round picks like Brandon Nimmo (2011), Dom Smith (2013), and Michael Conforto (2014), but also later round gems like Seth Lugo (11th round, 2011), Jeff McNeil (10th round, 2013), and Pete Alonso (2nd round, 2016). And if you stretch back a bit farther, there was this prospect named Jacob deGrom they nabbed as the 272nd pick in 2010 – he worked out all right.

Of course, other Mets’ draftees have achieved Major League success – just not in orange and blue. Michael Fulmer, for example, was a supplemental first-round pick in 2011 who became the primary piece in the Yoenis Cespedes trade in 2015. Fulmer went on to win 2016 AL Rookie of the Year with the Detroit Tigers and was an All-Star the following season. He did require Tommy John surgery after that but has worked his way back to become an effective closer.

The common thread in both instances is that, unlike other sports, it takes time for baseball prospects to reach the big leagues, let alone their full potential.

For the Mets, a new wave is finally on the verge of bursting onto the major league scene.

Let’s look at some of the Mets top prospects selected over the past five years (2017-2021), along with a few key international free agents they’ve signed over this time, who could become household names in the not-too-distant future.

2017: Ronny Mauricio, Mark Vientos

To date, only one Mets draft choice from 2017 has made it to the major leagues. That would be first round pick David Peterson, who quickly emerged as a solid left-handed starter in 2020 before struggling in 2021, both in terms of performance and avoiding injury.

Two other names from that year – one from the draft and another international signing – could debut with the Mets as early as this season. The key questions for both, however, are where they would play and if they’d even take the field in a Mets uniform.

Mark Vientos, whom the Mets selected out of high school in the second round, spent his first two professional seasons at Rookie level in Kingsport before climbing up the farm system. The 6’4’’ third baseman played most of 2021 at Double-A Binghamton before moving up to Triple-A Syracuse late in the year on the strength of a breakout power season – 25 home runs and 43 extra-base hits across only 310 total at-bats after just 27 home runs in his first three minor league seasons combined.

The Mets’ big splash internationally that year was Ronny Mauricio, a 17-year-old shortstop out of the Dominican Republic. Like Vientos, Mauricio’s climb up the system has been slow given his age, but his potential has been consistently recognized, ranking in the top 100 of both Major League Baseball’s and Baseball America’s annual prospect lists each of the past two years. His 2021 season with High-A Brooklyn wasn’t particularly noteworthy on paper (.242/.291/.449 slash line), but he did earn a promotion to Binghamton and, per scouts, has continued impressing with his athleticism.

The biggest roadblocks for both pertain to each one’s primary position. Mauricio is likely not the Mets’ shortstop of the future with Francisco Lindor under contract for the next decade, but at 6’3” with a strong arm, could find a home at third base or the outfield, where he’s played some games in the minors. Vientos, meanwhile, has competition to landing the third base job in the form of another big-time prospect in the Mets’ system (more on him later), which could ultimately make Vientos expendable. Regardless, both are high value prospects who could help in some way soon.

2018: Francisco Alvarez

Unfortunately, the 2018 draft class may be remembered more for what could have been than what ultimately may be. The Mets’ top choice that year was Jarred Kelenic, who of course, was subsequently traded away as the centerpiece of the infamous deal that brought Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to New York. Kelenic’s debut with the Mariners in 2021 was less than impressive (-1.8 WAR in 93 games played), but the 22-year-old outfielder has been regarded as a can’t-miss, five tool prospect. Time will tell.

There’s also Simeon Woods Richardson, a second-round choice dealt as part of the package that brought Marcus Stroman over from Toronto in 2019. The return in that trade worked out a bit better for the Mets (even if the aftertaste hasn’t been great), but the book hasn’t been opened on the young starter yet; he’s been ranked in Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list twice, although a rough 2021 at Double-A might temper the hype he’s carried. Again, time will tell.

One notable addition the Mets have hung onto from that year, however, has quickly made his case for being the best of the bunch. That would be Francisco Alvarez, who signed shortly after the draft out of Venezuela.

Alvarez, who only just turned 20 in November, heads into 2022 as a top-15 overall prospect according to Baseball America (#13), Baseball Prospectus (#10) and Keith Law of The Athletic (#8). The catcher has already stormed up the farm system, reaching High-A Brooklyn last year after a full season at Rookie level in 2019, alternate-site work during the pandemic in 2020, and just 15 games at Low-A St. Lucie to start 2021. He has raw power, which was on full display last season to the tune of 24 home runs and a .554 slugging percentage across just 327 at-bats.

Combined with leadership skills and a strong arm, scouts say Alvarez has the tools to keep accelerating towards the major leagues. While a debut in 2023 seems more likely, anything is possible if things keep trending as they are for Alvarez in 2022.

2019: Brett Baty, Matt Allan, Alex Ramirez

The Mets’ haul from 2019 already has the potential to be one of the best in franchise history, with three players taken that year already among the organization’s top 10 prospects, per MLB.com.

The biggest name of the class is Brett Baty, whom the Mets selected 12th overall out of Lake Travis High School in Texas. As a 19-year-old, Baty’s first season included 24 extra base hits in just 47 games at Rookie Level before ending the year in Brooklyn, where he would spend time at the alternate site in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. The third baseman showed no signs of rust coming back in 2021, with a .309 batting average and .911 OPS before moving up to Binghamton, where he hit .272 over his final 40 games.

Baty (surprise) is the primary competition for Mark Vientos as the Mets’ third baseman of the future. Both currently have scouting grades of 50 for fielding (average) and 60 for arm (above average), so aside from hitting pedigree, the determining factor will be how well each adjusts to playing different positions. Like Vientos, Baty spent time last year in left field, so expect more of that experimentation this year, especially since both could debut as early as later this season.

For all the buzz around Baty, the Mets arguably generated more draft day excitement upon selecting Matt Allan, a right-handed pitcher out of Seminole High School in Florida, in the third round. There were questions as to whether Allan, whom many scouts tabbed as the best high school arm available that year, would sign or go to the University of Florida, but the Mets locked him in at $2.5 million, significantly higher than his slot value. Unfortunately, Allan missed all of 2021 due to Tommy John surgery, but is expected back at some point in 2022 and, still just 20 years old, maintains a high ceiling.

Rounding out the trio of top 2019 prospects is Alex Ramirez, who signed out of the Dominican Republic. Ramirez didn’t get his pro career going until 2021 due to the pandemic, so the forecast is still a bit raw. He struggled with the bat in St. Lucie, highlighted by a 31% strikeout rate, but did show strong defensive skills in center field. At just 19 years old, there’s a longer runway for Ramirez to hone his craft in 2022 and beyond.