Photo by Ed Delany of MMO
MLB Pipeline released their Top 100 prospect list on Thursday evening with three Mets included. Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, Keith Law, and ESPN all released their lists earlier this offseason.
The first Mets on the list, as always, is catcher Francisco Álvarez at No. 10. This seems to be right in the middle of where the six major outlets have put the 20-year-old. MLB Pipeline ranked Álvarez as the third best catching prospect in the game behind Adley Rutschman of the Orioles and Gabriel Moreno of the Blue Jays.
Here’s how Álvarez has been ranked going into 2022:
- #7 – FanGraphs
- #8 – Keith Law
- #9 – ESPN
- #10 – BP
- #10 – MLB Pipeline
- #13 – BA
Álvarez is a consensus Top 15 prospect in baseball, a year after being ranked No. 48 by MLB Pipeline. The talented Venezuelan hit .272/.388/.554 with 18 doubles, 14 home runs, and 70 RBIs in 99 games between Low-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn last season.
Álvarez is in big league camp with the Mets as he gets a chance to work with the likes of Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer.
Third base prospect Brett Baty was the next Mets player on the list at No. 27. That is is second highest ranking in the major publications, behind only Baseball Prospectus having him at No. 13.
Here’s how Baty has been ranked going in 2022:
- #13 BP
- #27 MLB Pipeline
- #39 BA
- #41 Keith Law
- #52 ESPN
- #63 FanGraphs
Baty was one of six prospects on the MLB Pipeline list that jumped at least 60 spots, he went from No. 94 to No. 27. But, as you can see, there’s some vary thoughts on Baty as a prospect given the range of No. 13 to No. 63. I know that BP feels strongly about Baty’s glove at third base, while other outlets aren’t so sure that he sticks there long-term. Baty did play 18 games in left field last season, and looked fine out there. There’s also concern about that he had one of the highest ground ball rates in the Mets minor leagues last year.
Baty, 22, hit .292/.382/.473 with 22 doubles, 12 home runs, and 56 RBIs in 91 games last season between High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton. Baty is also in big league camp with the Mets.
The last Mets prospect on the list is shortstop Ronny Mauricio at No. 78. That is the second lowest rating Mauricio received, only Baseball America had him lower at N0. 92.
Here’s how Mauricio has been ranked going into 2022:
- #40 Keith Law
- #43 ESPN
- #44 FanGraphs
- #51 BP
- #78 MLB Pipeline
- #92 BA
A wide variance on the rankings for Mauricio after a 2021 season that saw him show a significant increase in power, but he also struggled to get on base and was inconsistent defensively at short.
Mauricio, 20, hit .248/.296/.449 with 15 doubles, five triples, 64 RBIs, and a career-high 20 home runs in 108 games between High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton. He also struck out 112 times during that span, and then struggled mightily on both side of the ball in Winter League.
Mauricio has grown taller and filled out quite a bit over the last calendar year and that combined with sub-par defense at shortstop has Mets officials thinking about where he might play next. He did some work at third base in Winter Ball (not Mets controlled) and has taken fly balls in the outfield already in big league camp.
Mets corner infield prospect Mark Vientos did not place on the list despite having a .933 OPS and 25 home runs during the 2021 season in Double-A and Triple-A. The 22-year-old did get ranked on three of the six lists with his highest being No. 64 on FanGraphs, No. 71 Keith Law, and No. 92 on ESPN. The big question for Vientos remains where will he play defensively after a season that had him at third, first, and left field.
Mets outfield prospect Alex Ramirez also ranked No. 100 on Keith Law’s list, giving the Mets five players inside his Top 100.
