The New York Mets have some high end prospects waiting in the wings of the minor leagues. Here’s Baseball America’s Top 10 Mets prospects.
The New York Mets should feel very good about their minor league system, both in terms of death and top-end talent.Many of their what seem to be future starters are set to be major league ready as soon as the current starters’ positions are left vacant due to ending contracts, including the likes of Lucas Duda, Asdrubal Cabrera and Curtis Granderson.
The following scouting grades on this list are courtesy of MLB.com.
The scouting grades range on a scale from 20-80 – 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average.
This is what Baseball America has ranked as the Top 10 Mets prospects to begin the upcoming 2017 MLB season.
10. C Tomas Nido
Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 45 | Run: 30 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 45
Although the Mets haven’t had much success with catching prospects in recent years – ie. Travis d’Arnaud, Kevin Plawecki, Josh Thole – Nido could knock them off that schneid.He possesses solid power, but has been known to sell out a bit, pulling pitches too often. Minor league coaches have worked with Nido on this issue and it has brought major dividends, as the 22-year-old hit .320 with 23 doubles and seven home runs in 90 games last season at High-A St. Lucie.
Nido’s glove does leave something to be desired, but he has a strong arm – a virtue that a Mets staff historically bad at holding runners on would love to see in Queens.
9. RHP Gabriel Ynoa
Scouting grades: Fastball: 50 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 60 | Overall: 45
Ynoa is the name and control is the game. If Bartolo Colon threw any offspeed pitches or breaking balls, he would be a carbon copy of Big Sexy.Called up to the majors last season to help an injury stricken Mets rotation, Ynoa struggled, posting a 6.38 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP in 10 games, three of which were starts.
His stuff is not that electric, but he does have a good speed split between his changeup and fastball, a weapon he uses often. But where his ability to spot those pitches was incredible in the minors, Mets fans didn’t see the same pinpoint control in the MLB, resulting in a lot of hard hit balls that were very flat and right over the plate.
The silver lining though – even with all that struggle, he didn’t allow a single home run in 18.1 innings of work.
8. LHP Thomas Szapucki
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 50
Change his last name to Matz and he might as well be Steven’s twin.Szapucki has shot up the Mets’ prospect ranks since the inception of his professional baseball career. His whipping power-curve and sometimes 97 mph fastball are already proving to be a deadly combination against minor league hitters.
In two seasons between Rookie ball and Low-A, Szapucki has a sub-2.00 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and a whopping 89 strikeouts in just 54.1 innings pitched. Perhaps even more impressive for an only 20-year-old lefty is that he’s only given up two home runs during that span.
So even though Szapucki is still a few years off from being major league ready, look for him to be near the top of the organizational prospects rankings sooner rather than later.
7. RHP Robert Gsellman
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45
After starting seven games for the Mets, Gsellman remains a main reason a postseason trip was even possible in 2016. His performance during that time resulted in a 2.42 ERA, 42 strikeouts in 44.2 innings and just one home run allowed.This has catapulted the man who completes the long-hair trio of Mets starters into another possibly starting role in 2017, especially with the returns of Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz all being from injuries.
So if Wheeler goes to the bullpen, or Terry Collins wants to use a six-man rotation at any point, Gsellman is their man to fill in.
6. 2B/SS Gavin Cecchini
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 35 | Run: 50 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 50
Cecchini may do nothing extraordinary, but he does a little bit of everything, and does it fundamentally sound.The middle infielder spent some time in Queens last September and hit well in limited action, producing two doubles in just seven plate appearances. But at Triple-A Las Vegas in 2016, Cecchini raked, hitting .325 with a .390 on-base percentage, 27 doubles, eight home runs and a solid 48 walk to 55 strikeout ratio.
He absolutely has the glove and arm to cover shortstop, but it’s more likely he ends up at second base during his Mets career due to the presence of an elite shortstop prospect at the top of this list.
5. OF Brandon Nimmo
Scouting grades: Hit: 55 | Power: 50 | Run: 50 | Arm: 50 | Field: 50 | Overall: 50
Another guy who Mets fans finally got to see in major league action last season, Nimmo has shown consistent improvements in his hitting abilities in every one of his professional seasons.He has finally filled out his 6-foot-3 frame, sitting at 205 pounds now, and the power has followed as expected. Nimmo cracked 25 doubles, eight triples and 11 home runs in just 97 games at Triple-A last season, while still maintaining a .352 average and a near 1.000 OPS in the process.
MLB pitching was also not too overwhelming for the 23-year-old, as he managed to hit .274 in 80 plate appearances, scoring 12 runs and hitting a homer as well during that span.
So with a trade of either Granderson or Jay Bruce appearing to be imminent, expect Nimmo to see some time in all three outfield spots next season for the team in Queens.
4. OF Desmond Lindsay
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 60 | Arm: 50 | Field: 45 | Overall: 50
Athleticism can sometimes carry a player to the top, and it appears that Lindsay may be the beneficiary of that scenario.After only topping out at Low-A ball so far in his career, Lindsay already takes the four spot in these rankings. Surprising? Maybe. But it’s not for a lack of him deserving the attention.
Lindsay hit for some power last season, gathering four home runs and five doubles in just 150 plate appearances. The eye he has developed at just 19-years-old is astounding, netting him 25 walks to just 31 strikeouts.
Lindsay has top-end speed, with the natural instincts to patrol any of the three outfield spots, but most specifically, center field. He’s got some time before being major league ready, but Mets brass will keep a close eye on him as center field is a huge area of need.
3. RHP Justin Dunn
Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 50 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 45 | Overall: 50
Dunn’s fastball is Yordano Ventura-esque, but his control may someday surpass Ventura’s.His breaking balls are all near a major league level, though his changeup does need some work. Pure velocity, movement, and pitching talent are his current strengths, and if his control can catch up to them, he’ll be seeing Citi Field in no time.
Dunn bypassed the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2013 draft to attend Boston College and, in doing so, fell to the Mets in the first round of the 2016 draft. His refined college approach has risen his stock to new levels, making him likely better than he would’ve been now if he had come out of high school.
Some scouts profile him as a future reliever/closer, but he started eight games in Low-A last season and appears determined to be in the rotation for his Mets career.
2. 1B Dominic Smith
Scouting grades: Hit: 60 | Power: 50 | Run: 40 | Arm: 50 | Field: 60 | Overall: 55
Now this is where things get really exciting for Mets fans. Smith should be ready at the start of the 2018 season, right in time for Duda’s contract to be up.The 21-year-old lefty stands at 6-foot, 250 pounds, and has built considerable strength the last few seasons, with the benefits beginning to show. Smith hit .302 last season at Double-A, while gatherng 29 doubles and 14 homers with 91 RBIs.
Profiling as a three-to-five hole hitter in the majors, Smith should be a mainstay in the Mets lineup for years to come. He has a solid glove at first base as well, possessing good scooping ability and nimble feet for a rather large player.
1. SS Amed Rosario
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 60 | Arm: 65 | Field: 55 | Overall: 60
Mets fans – the moment you have all been waiting for. Near Top-10 MLB prospect Amed Rosario stands right on the cusp of being on the major league roster.Rosario could possibly be a Gold-Glove caliber shortstop, as he has developed incredible range with his 6-foot-2 length and a strong arm that make him a hybrid between Xander Bogaerts and Francisco Lindor.
His glove aside, he also stole nearly 20 bags last season between High-A and Double-A, showing the consistently good jumps and speed needed to be a respectable base-stealer in the majors.
But Rosario’s bat is what really shot the 21-year-old prospect up the rankings this past summer. His gap-to-gap power finally appeared more often, hitting 24 doubles and a Jose Reyes-esque 13 triples.
He also finally got some balls over the fence, producing five home runs paired with 71 RBIs on the year. But even with the upgraded power numbers, Rosario still held a .324 average and a .374 on-base percentage in those 120 games, making this man look like a future star for the Metropolitans.