Photo by Richard Nelson

The Mets farm system certainly took steps forward in 2022 with top prospects Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, and Mark Vientos reaching the major leagues, their draft department adding Kevin Parada, Jett Williams, and Blade Tidwell, and teenagers Jesus Baez and Deangelo Sarmiento flashing in potential in their pro debuts.

Here is my list with their current level in parentheses.

  1. Francisco Álvarez – C (majors)
  2. Brett Baty – 3B (AAA)
  3. Kevin Parada – C (High-A)
  4. Ronny Mauricio – SS (AAA)
  5. Jett Williams – SS (Low-A)
  6. Alex Ramirez – OF (High-A)
  7. Blade Tidwell – RHP (High-A)
  8. Mark Vientos – 1B (AAA)
  9. Mike Vasil – RHP (AA)
  10. Dominic Hamel – RHP (AA)
  11. José Butto – RHP (AAA)
  12. Jesus Baez – SS (extended spring)
  13. Calvin Ziegler – RHP (IL)
  14. Jacob Reimer – 3B (Low-A)
  15. Layonel Ovalles – RHP (Low-A)
  16. Stanley Consuegra – OF (High-A)
  17. Nick Morabito – OF (IL)
  18. Dangelo Sarmiento – SS (extended)
  19. Grant Hartwig – RHP (AAA)
  20. Joel Díaz – RHP (IL)
  21. Willy Fañas – OF (extended)
  22. William Lugo – INF (IL)
  23. Simón Juan – OF (extended)
  24. Javier Atencio – LHP (Low-A)
  25. Dedniel Núñez – RHP (AA)
  26. Eric Orze – RHP (AAA)
  27. Jawilme Ramirez – RHP (Low-A)
  28. Felipe De La Cruz – LHP (Low-A)
  29. Douglas Orellana – RHP (Low-A)
  30. Raimon Gómez – RHP (High-A)
  31. Junior Tilien – INF (Low-A)
  32. Junior Santos – RHP (AA)
  33. JT Schwartz – 1B (AA)
  34. Vincent Perozo – C (Low-A)
  35. Brandon McIlwain – OF (AA)

Bryce Montes de Oca. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Injuries Stink

Right-handers Bryce Montes de Oca (TJS) and Matt Allan (nerve transposition) dropped completely off my board because they’ve both experienced multiple arm injuries and will miss the entire season following surgery. Montes de Oca has been extremely unfortunate in dealing with multiple surgeries on his arm and other severe injuries that have forced him to miss time. Allan has the talent to be in the Mets top 10, but he hasn’t pitched in a game since 2019.

Joel Díaz (TJS) and Calvin Ziegler (bone spurs) dropped a bit in the rankings due to their injuries as well.

That St. Lucie Mets Rotation

The St. Lucie Mets rotation is stacked to the point where they certainly have more than five or six games that are capable of starting games. They have five on my top 35 starting with Ovalles, followed by Atencio, Ramirez, De La Cruz, and Orellana. And that doesn’t include their Opening Day starter Jordany Ventura whom Mets Minors had in their top 30 and would be the next player on my list.

Ovalles is the youngest of the group at only 19 years old and De La Cruz the oldest of the youngsters at 21 years old.

Ronny Mauricio. Photo by Serena Spencer

Loaded Syracuse Infield, For Now

It was talked about a ton before the games began, and all the group of Baty, Vientos, and Mauricio has done is hit a combined 13 home runs in a very short period to keep the Syracuse Mets infield one of the hottest topics in the Mets stratosphere.

Baty is third in the International League with a 197 wRC+, Mauricio is second with five home runs, and Vientos is among the leaderboard for 90th percentile exit velocity. All three of them are making their bid to be on the Mets major league roster that has started the year struggling offensively.

Other Names to Watch

I will be updating my list monthly this year to take into account how each player is adjusting to new levels, making swing/approach changes, adding velocity, etc. With that in mind, here are a few names in addition to the previously mentioned Ventura that just missed my top 35:

  • Kevin Kendall – Speedster that is functioning as the Brooklyn Cyclones leadoff hitter. He has struggled to stay healthy since the Mets drafted him in the seventh round of the 2021 draft.
  • Christian Scott – Right-hander that the Mets drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 draft. Good high spin fastball/slider combo, but he allowed 27 hits in 13 innings last fall in the AFL and is starting the season in extended spring.
  • Luis Rodriguez – The Mets actually have two young pitchers by the name of Luis Rodriguez and both feature fastballs in the mid-to-upper 90s. Luis A. is the right-hander and he’s currently on the injured list. Luis R. is the left-handed that underwent Tommy John last March.
  • 2023 IFA Signees: C Daiverson Gutierrez ($1.9M), SS Cristopher Larez ($1.5 million), OF Anthony Baptist ($1.1M), and LHP Daviel Hurtado ($640K) will all be looking to make impressions in their first taste of pro ball.
  • Former Top 30s: Players that were previously featured in my top 30 include LHP Josh Walker, OF Omar De Los Santos, C Hayden Senger, INF Jose Peroza,
  • Bullpen Arms: A couple of the better relief prospects in the Mets system not in my top 35 include LHP Daniel Juarez, RHP Justin Courtney, RHP Hunter Parsons, LHP Nathan Lavender, RHP Daison Acosta, and RHP Sammy Tavarez.

The Mets have started building back a solid farm system on good drafts and developing young IFA arms to give them depth behind the bigger-name guys that top my list. I will be updating this list monthly this season, but in the meantime make sure to follow me on Twitter @mikemayer22 and check out MetsMinors.net.