The guys over at 27 Outs Baseball released their list of the Top 27 hitting and pitching prospects to watch in the 2016 season. The list included two Mets prospects, utility player Jeff McNeil and catcher/first baseman Patrick Mazeika.
McNeil was a Florida State League mid-season and post-season all-star in 2015 after being a mid-season All-Star in the South Atlantic League in 2014. He hit .312/.372/.383 with 16 stolen bases and 80 runs scored in 119 games for the St. Lucie Mets this season before receiving a cup of coffee (4 games, 3-15 at plate) with the Binghamton Mets.
Jeff also played in the Arizona Fall League this year and while he struggled with the bat (.230/.309/.246 with 4 stolen bases), he did show off versatility playing shortstop, second base, third base, and left field.
The Mets selected the left-handed hitting Mazeika this June in the 8th round out of Stetson University. He started hitting the day he stepped on the field for the Kingsport Mets batting .354/.451/.540 with a league leading 27 doubles. He also had five homeruns and was 2nd in league with 48 RBI behind teammate Dash Winningham who had 51.
Patrick shared the Mets Sterling Award for Kingsport with teammate Kevin Kaczmarski who was drafted the round after him. He was also the Player of the Month for August in the Appalachian League and was a post-season all-star too. He caught 31 games this season while playing eleven at first base.
For more Mets minor league coverage including the Winter Ball Recap from last night with Wilmer Flores collecting two hits head over to MetsMinors.net.
