The New York Mets are Hard Done By in the New ESPN Prospect Rankings

The Mets have invested in their farm system more and more recently. New York’s farm system steadily improved in the last few years. Then, the Mets’ moves at last year’s deadline helped establish the Mets system as, at least, better than average.

The Mets have invested a lot in their farm system. They have a huge analytics department. A lot of the people within the department try to figure out how to best utilize the Mets’ young players.

So much of talent production now is figuring out what players are best at and getting them to focus on their strengths. New York is in the process of doing that, especially with their pitchers.

The Mets use the same thinking regarding draft choices. They try to find value where they can and look for strengths the Mets can utilize to chart their draftees’ progress.

Going into the season, most sites had the Mets’ prospects ranked between 11th-16th. According to ESPN, the Mets had the 11th best prospects.

It has been an interesting year for Mets prospects. The year started pretty poorly. Ronny Mauricio was supposed to be an important player for the Mets this season. However, Mauricio suffered an ACL tear in the Dominican Winter League, ending his season.

Jett Williams soared up the prospect rankings last year. His OPS in his age 19 season, which spanned three leagues and ended in AA, was nearly .900. Williams became the Mets’ consensus top prospect.

However, Williams got hurt early this year. He is still yet to return. The hope was for Williams to be in Triple A, if not on the Major League roster, by the end of the year.

But Williams is only 20 years old. There is no reason to think he won’t become a very good hitter again when he is healthy.

Drew Gilbert was one of the two prospects the Mets got in the Justin Verlander deal. The 23 year old outfielder had a nearly 1.000 OPS after being traded to the Mets last year. Gilbert started the year in Triple A and, after only 15 games, he also got hurt. Gilbert is now back with the Syracuse Mets getting back on track.

There has been a lot to like about the Mets system. Ryan Clifford was the other piece in the Verlander deal. He has been great this year. Clifford has an .835 OPS in AA. He has hit 13 home runs. The 21 year old has also walked 42 times.

Clifford could threaten to make the major league roster next year.

Brandon Sproat’ s success has been well established. According to many, Sproat has become the Mets’ top prospect. Sproat completely dominated in AA. Sproat’s excellence has put him at the top of some people’s lists of pitching prospects. The Mets draftee has been remarkable. He could even impact the major league roster this year.

Jonah Tong has also risen up the prospect charts this year. Tong is now in A+. He has a 2.60 ERA in 83 innings and has struck out 124. The 21 year old has an excellent fastball. He should continue to succeed.

New York also had a very solid 2024 draft. They drafted a lot of high upside players. Their first round pick, Carson Benge, has a lot of potential with his bat and his arm in the outfield.

There is much to like about the Mets’ farm system. Most national outlets have picked up on the success. Most recent rankings have the Mets’ group of prospects as the tenth best. However, ESPN has them at 16th.

The ranking is peculiar. It seems like ESPN’s only basis for ranking the Mets prospects so low is that their top two prospects heading into the year were injured. However, they both are still so young. There is no reason to think that Williams and Gilbert will be affected long term by their injuries.

The Mets system has had many high risers. Players have come out of nowhere from all over the system and had great years.

At this point, most of the Mets’ top prospects are ready or close to ready to join the big league team. The Mets’ top five prospects could all contribute at the major league level next year. The Mets’ prospects in the high minor leagues are clearly valuable. These players are performing very well in Double and Triple A, not in a developmental league or low A.

There is a lot to like about the Mets prospects, despite what ESPN has to say.