Meet the Mets: Who is Johneshwy Fargas?

The new Mets outfielder picked up his first career hit in Monday night’s win.

When the Mets added two more names to the injured list on Monday, one of the players recalled was Johneshwy Fargas.

The 26-year-old outfielder jumped into the lineup and collected his first hit, driving in his first career RBI in the process.

Fargas, a native of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, was originally drafted in the 11th round (342nd overall) by the San Francisco Giants in 2013 (signed for $100,000). Entering the 2021 season, Fargas was not ranked among the top 30 prospects in the Mets’ system by MLB Pipeline.

He’s known for his speed; he had eight stolen bases already in 2021 in only eight games with Syracuse. Over 592 career minor league games, Fargas stole 243 bases. He also put up a .331 OBP which makes him an intriguing leadoff candidate if he can put it all together.

Putting it all together is where many prospects fall apart, but the COVID shutdown may have given Fargas an opportunity to open eyes in the Mets organization. The team he was supposed to play for in the winter league didn’t participate because of COVID so he signed with the Criollos de Caguas.

How did his winter season turn out? Fargas was unanimously voted the MVP of the Liga Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente in Puerto Rico for the 2020-21 season.

With the Criollos de Caguas, Fargas posted a .349 average with a 1.069 OPS, four home runs and 13 runs scored while leading the league with 17 RBI and 7 stolen bases.

Fargas got the start in centerfield for the Mets on Monday night, striking out twice but hitting a double. How long he sticks with the big club will be determined by the prognosis of Kevin Pillar (who was hit in the face by a fastball on Monday) and how well he plays in his chance in the show.