Mets Minors 2024 Prospects: 35-31 Includes Nate Lavender

Editor’s note: This list was compiled by six Mets Minors writers/editors after they submitted their personal top 35 prospects in the Mets farm system. This list is different than the previously released Top 75 Mets prospects by MMO Editor-in-Chief Mike Mayer. 

The new baseball season is just around the corner, and spring training games have already begun in Port St. Lucie, Florida. Mets camp this season has been filled with top prospects getting into action, giving fans a glimpse of players they could see later this year and in the coming seasons.

The Mets added loads of talent to their farm system during the 2023 season, whether through a strong draft class, their trade deadline sell-off, or continuing to develop the talent they already had in the system. Multiple Mets Minors writers voted on this list. Let’s kick off our 2024 Mets Minors Top-35 prospects list with numbers 35-31.

35. UT Wilfredo Lara

B/T: R/R     Age: 19
Ht: 5’10″       Wt: 180 lb
ETA: 2026 Previous Rank: Not Ranked (NR)
Acquired: International free agent signing (6/14/2021)
2023 Stats (A): .264/.362/.452 (.814 OPS), 14 HR, 49 RBI

2023 was Wilfredo Lara’s first full season with the Mets, and the 19-year-old Dominican-born utility man did not disappoint. Lara posted a strong .814 OPS for his age 19 campaign and played every position for the St. Lucie Mets aside from pitcher and catcher. Lara did not play in April for the St. Lucie squad but was promoted to A-ball on May 2 and became a mainstay in the Mets’ lineup.

Lara profiles long-term as a decent defender who can work in a utility role, which is still very valuable to major league ballclubs. Lara played the majority of his games in the outfield and primarily played third base when he was in the infield. Overall, he played 58 games in the outfield, 27 at third base, and had occasional action at first, second, shortstop, and DH.

The most notable development for Lara was the jump in his power. His 14 homers averaged roughly 25 at-bats per home run. Prior to 2023, Lara had three professional homers to his name, coming in 232 total at-bats—which makes his 2023 output a steep improvement. He also got on-base at a strong clip with a .362 on-base percentage, and his 122 wRC+ tied for 7th in the Florida State League. He ranked in the 82nd percentile for speed and finished the season third on the St. Lucie Mets with 17 stolen bases.

Lara figures to start the year with the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones following his strong 2023 campaign.

34. OF Simon Juan

B/T: R/R     Age: 18
Ht: 5’11″       Wt: 195 lbs
ETA: 2027 Previous Rank: NR
Acquired: International free agent signing (1/15/2022)
2023 Stats (FCL): .220/.293/.303 (.596 OPS), 2 HR, 17 RBI

Simon Juan, one of the Mets’ more prized international free agent signings in recent years, has struggled in his brief minor league career. Juan was signed on international signing day in 2022 for a bonus of $1.9 million, one of the largest ever handed out by the Mets organization. Over the course of two seasons, Juan has posted a slash line of .219/.303/.315 with just four homers.

Juan, who is from the Dominican Republic, was initially touted as a five-tool prospect who could play a premium position defensively, but only one of those assertions seems true anymore. It is hard to know what to expect from Juan offensively. Juan’s power has been non-existent, which has been arguably the biggest reason his stock has fallen. Stats are never a perfect way to scout a player, but the lack of thump is a concerning sight for Juan and could hold him back in his development.

Juan still profiles as a center fielder long-term, with his range, speed, and athleticism keeping him there. While his ability to stay at a premium position will help his prospect stock, the sky may come caving in for Juan if he has to move out of center field. So long as Juan is young and can play center, he will be in the discussion for these lists. But the clock is ticking on him, and time moves quickly.

33. RHP Jonah Tong

B/T: R/R     Age: 20
Ht: 6’1″       Wt: 180 lbs
ETA: 2026 Previous Rank: NR
Acquired: 2022 Amateur Draft, 7th round (209th overall)
2023 Stats (FCL): 10 GP, 21.0 IP, 6.00 ERA, 1.86 WHIP, 16.29 K/9

Jonah Tong was selected by the Mets in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Amateur Draft and did not make his organizational debut until 2023. The Canadian native only made it into 10 games in 2023 but had great strikeout results despite a poor ERA. Relative to his ERA, Tong did a good job limiting base runners outside of walks. However, he suffered from the long ball, considering he allowed three in just 21 innings of work.

Tong’s biggest area of improvement heading into 2024 will be his command. Tong walked an incredible 22 batters in 21 innings, showing serious fundamental issues that need to be improved sooner rather than later. The 20-year-old is looking for his first full season of work in 2024 and could see a noticeable increase in innings with the St. Lucie Mets.

Tong is a hard-throwing righty, sitting in the mid-90s with his fastball, and has been up to 96 mph. His fastball is of the cut-ride variety that gets strong vertical break. His best secondary pitch is far and away his high-spin curveball. He also features a gyro slider. Tong struggles to command all three of his pitches but could see his numbers settle down and his curveball continue to play up if he can figure out how to better locate his stuff. Until then, Tong continues to be a mostly unsolved question for the Mets.

We would expect him to begin the 2024 season with the St. Lucie Mets in Low-A.

32. LHP Luis R. Rodríguez

B/T: L/L     Age: 21
Ht: 6’3″       Wt: 190 lbs
ETA: 2027 Previous Rank: NR
Acquired: Minor league signing (7/2/2019)
2023 Stats (A): 10.2 IP, 6 G (5 GS), 4.22 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 8.4 K/9

Luis Rodríguez finally made it back to professional baseball following an injury that sidelined him for all of 2022 and most of 2023, but he was hurt again to end last season and only amassed 10 innings. Rodríguez, 21, is a lottery ticket-type prospect for the Mets, but injuries have kept him off the field for the majority of his career.

The fastball—sitting mid-90s, up to 97 mph—is a big reason why Rodríguez is still on this list despite so few innings pitched. He also has a high-spin sweeper (up to 3060 rpms last year). His third pitch, the changeup, is rarely used in his arsenal. Rodríguez has been able to generate strikeouts when healthy but has yet to put together a strong workload. If Rodríguez can stay on the field, he will need to develop a third pitch to ensure that he can continue to move through the Mets’ system.

31. LHP Nate Lavender

B/T: L/L     Age: 24
Ht: 6’2″       Wt: 210 lbs
ETA: 2024 Previous Rank: NR
Acquired: 2021 Amateur Draft, 14th Round (412th overall)
2023 Stats (AA/AAA): 54.1 IP, 42 G, 2.98 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 14.25 K/9

Nate Lavender, a 14th round selection out of the University of Illinois in 2021, has become arguably the Mets’ best relief prospect over the last two years. Lavender ended his tenure in Triple-A Syracuse with a 3.27 ERA, marking the first time that the 24-year-old lefty had posted an ERA above 2.00 at any of his stops in the minors. Lavender has dominated in the minors and pushed the envelope for a major league call-up to Queens at the back end of the season.

Lavender is the first player on this list who could realistically play for the Mets in the majors this season. The Mets currently have two lefties signed to major league deals in Brooks Raley and Jake Diekman, and both figure to make the team regardless of what happens this spring. However, every baseball fan knows that relievers are volatile and can turn direction at the drop of a pin. Lavender figures to be one of the first relievers up from Syracuse if and when the team needs to call someone up.

Lavender has made a living striking batters out but has struggled to limit his walks. Despite punching out better than 14 batters per nine innings, Lavender walked 4.31 batters per nine in 2023, which was still an improvement from his 4.91 output in 2022. Lavender is an old-school soft-tossing lefty, sitting around 90 mph with his fastball, a slider hovering around 80 mph, and a changeup that has been a serviceable third pitch. The lower-velo fastball still gets a ton of whiffs given its usage up in the zone and its vertical approach angle.

Changeups are historically hard to project moving from the minor leagues to the major leagues, so it is hard to tell whether or not Lavender’s will translate to Queens. If it does, look for the lefty to continue setting hitters up with his breaking pitches and then using his dancing fastball to finish off two-strike counts, as Lavender has had a good deal of success pitching backward.