Courtesy of the Arizona Fall League

MLB’s Hot Stove is ice cold as the lockout continues, but there’s some good New York Mets news out there on this Monday that’s not related to the organization’s search for its next manager. That’s where top prospects Francisco Álvarez and Bretty Baty come in.

CBS Sports started out the week by releasing their top-20 prospects in the game heading into 2022, and those two Mets farmhands were included — the 20-year-old Álvarez checked in at seventh, while the 22-year-old Baty slotted in at number 14.

Álvarez reached a milestone in November, as he’s officially been on this Earth for two decades after turning 20 years old. That’s important because he had such a successful year on offense between St. Lucie (Class-A) and Brooklyn (Class High-A) as a teenager. Through 400 total plate appearances between these two levels, the young catcher slashed .272/.388/.554 with 24 home runs, 70 RBI, and 67 runs scored. He consistently flashed elite exit velocity numbers and produced bombs like this on a regular basis:

He could be starting 2022 in Double-A, and if he continues performing there, that could put him on a fast track to the majors.

Double-A is a level Baty has already experienced this past season during his first full year in the minors. In addition to appearing in the Futures Game this past July, he slashed .292/.382/.473 with 12 homers, 22 doubles, and 56 RBI over the course of 385 plate appearances between Brooklyn and Binghamton. After appearing in 91 games, he then played in 25 more at the Arizona Fall League, hitting .292/.373/.404 in 102 plate appearances along with being named an All-Star.

It’ll be interesting to see how both Álvarez and Baty continue progressing through the Mets’ system, and how soon we may see them at the big-league level.