Mets Minors: Mets All-Prospect Team

MiLB.com recently did an article on the Mets’ organization All-Stars from 2019 with the best performers, and quite honestly it was kind of sad with the inclusion of multiple older players like Rene Rivera and Travis Taijeron.

Congrats to those guys for having terrific seasons, but let’s take a look at a list that should be more important to the Mets’ long-term outlook, their All-Prospect Team.

This list is not solely stat-based like the MiLB one; it is based on the Mets’ top prospects at each position:

Position Players

• Catcher: Francisco Alvarez – Easy selection here as the 18-year-old hit .312/.407/.510 with 10 doubles, seven homers, and 26 RBI in his first 42 pro games. All them coming stateside between the GCL and Kingsport. He’s not just the Mets’ best catching prospect; he’s one of the best in baseball, ranking No. 97 in Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects. Ali Sanchez – recently added to the Mets 40-man roster – is their second best catching prospect.
• First Base: Patrick Mazeika – First base is not a strong spot in the Mets’ system, though not a big issue with 2019 NL Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso expected to hold the fort for awhile (and don’t forget Dominic Smith‘s MLB success in 2019). Mazeika is a catcher – a position that he worked hard to improve at in 2019 – but he played 53 games at first in 2019 and could see plenty of time there in Triple-A Syracuse next season as well. Jeremy Vasquez gets props for his lifetime .364 OBP.
• Second Base: Luis Carpio – While the 22-year-old played a majority of his games in 2019 at second base, he also played shortstop, third base, and left field. His defense is solid at shortstop and would likely play more there if not for Andres Gimenez. Despite showing very little power, Carpio had a 113 wRC+ in Double-A for Binghamton. The righty also doesn’t strike out much, only 17.8% this year. I know some of my collegaues at MMN will be mad I didn’t go Carlos Cortes here, as the 2018 third round pick had a 119 wRC+ for St. Lucie in 2019.
• Third Base: Brett Baty – The Mets’ first-round pick in 2019 started his career off by slashing .234/.368/.452 while finishing the year in Brooklyn. The Mets also have the promising slugger Mark Vientos at third base. Both Baty (No. 2) and Vientos (No. 6) are among the Mets’ top 10 prospects according to MLB Pipeline. Jaylen Palmer is another player to keep an eye on here.
• Shortstop: Ronny Mauricio – He’s the Mets’ top prospect and currently ranked No. 54 overall by BA. Of course he has Andres Gimenez right behind him, the left-handed hitter who is coming off leading the Arizona Fall League with his .371 AVG and .999 OPS. William Lugo and Wilmer Reyes are two toolsy youngsters to watch as well.
• Outfield: Freddy Valdez, Alexander Ramirez, Adrian Hernandez – The Mets’ outfield prospect depth is very weak at the upper levels after the trade of Jarred Kelenic. The 17-year-old Valdez hit .274/.367/.448 in his first 60 pro games between DSL and GCL. The 16-year-old Ramirez signed for $2.1 million on July 2 out of the Dominican Republic. Jake Mangum – 2019 fourth rounder – is in the next group along with Quinn Brodey. Watch out for youngster Kenedy Corona.
• Utility: Shervyen Newton – Toolsy switch-hitter that played 27 games at third base, 29 games at shortstop, and 53 games at second base in 2019. Sam Haggerty played all over in 2019 and made his major league debut.

Rotation

• RHP Matthew Allan – Best pitching prospect in the Mets system after they were able to get the first round talent in the third round this year.
• LHP David Peterson – Was mentioned by Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen as someone who could help in 2020, expected to start season in Triple-A Syracuse.
• LHP Thomas Szapucki – Coming off TJS, he made it all the way up to Double-A for his final start of the season.
• RHP Josh Wolf – The second-round pick from the 2019 draft had a nifty 12 K/1 BB ratio in his first eight pro innings.
• RHP Franklyn Kilome – Van Wagenen says that Kilome is healthy coming off TJS, and will be interesting to see if the Mets use him out of the ‘pen. I know some that would have lefty Kevin Smith in this group, but it still looks like there’s a good chance of him being a reliever in my opinion. Righties Junior Santos, Dedniel Nunez, Daison Acosta, and Jordan Humphreys are in the next group.

Bullpen

• RHP Ryley Gilliam – 2018 draft pick that reached Triple-A this season. Was impressive in Arizona Fall League with a 0.96 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings.
• LHP Blake Taylor – Former Ike Davis trade piece blossomed in 2019 with a move to the pen. Lefty that can get it up to 96 mph and limits the long ball.
• RHP Ryder Ryan – Coming off another fine season in the Mets system following his coming over in the Jay Bruce trade. Held opponents to a .176/.289/.279 line as a reliever in 2019.