The New York Mets had seven players who made their major league debut in 2023, and with the organization focused on giving young players a chance, we could see that many in 2024 as well. Let’s take a look at the players who could make the leap to the big leagues with the Mets in 2024, which figures to be a mixture of top prospects and potential depth pieces.
40-Man Roster Players
The Mets only have two players currently on the 40-man roster who haven’t played in the major leagues, Luisangel Acuña and Alex Ramírez. The 21-year-old Ramírez is almost certainly not going to play in the big leagues this season after struggling (.627 OPS) in High-A Brooklyn this season. He will likely start the season in Double-A Binghamton, where he potentially stays for the duration of the 2024 season.
Acuña, on the other hand, certainly has a chance to make his major league debut in 2024. The younger brother of Ronald Acuña Jr. hit .294/.359/.410 with 28 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 57 stolen bases in 121 Double-A games last season between the Rangers and Mets organizations.
The 21-year-old had played mostly shortstop in his career before he was acquired by the Mets in July. In 37 games with Binghamton, Acuña played 25 games at shortstop and 12 games at second base. He had played four games in center field for the Rangers affiliate last season. This spring, Luisangel has been seeing more playing time at second base, and that makes sense for the long run, given the presence of star Francisco Lindor.
Acuña appears likely to start the 2024 season in Triple-A Syracuse, where he will be one step away if the Mets are dealing with an injury. The Mets infield depth pieces on the 40-man roster are Joey Wendle and Zack Short. The versatile Short is out of options, so if he doesn’t make the team he could be designated for assignment, leaving Luisangel as the Mets only option on the 40-man roster. I had Acuña as the Mets’ No. 3 prospect on my most recent list, and he was listed on four of the top six Top 100 baseball prospects lists.
Drew Gilbert, Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Non-Roster Invites
I’m breaking it down this way because of the seven players who debuted for the Mets last season, four of them were on the 40-man roster already and the other three were all non-roster invites to big league camp in the spring. Teams give you an idea of what they think about players when they decide what prospects/depth pieces to invite to major league camp.
Of the 26 non-roster invitees the Mets currently have, 10 of them have not made it to the big leagues yet. Those are pitchers Dominic Hamel, Eric Orze, Christian Scott, Mike Vasil, Cam Robinson, and Nate Lavender, catchers Kevin Parada and Hayden Senger, infielder Jett Williams, and outfielders Drew Gilbert.
Pitchers
Hamel looks to be behind Scott and Vasil on the depth chart, so while I would expect him to be in Triple-A this season, the chances of him making his big league debut in 2024 aren’t seemingly high. The 24-year-old finished the 2023 season really strong with a 1.08 ERA in his last five regular season starts and pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings in Double-A Binghamton’s win that clinched a spot in the championship.
Vasil has the experience of finishing the 2023 season in Syracuse, but Scott is the better prospect, having been ranked in three of the previously mentioned Top 100 lists. Both will start the season in Triple-A, and I would expect them to pitch in the majors at some point this season. For me, Scott has the upside of being top-end of the rotation pitcher, while Vasil is more of a 4 or 5.
Robinson, Orze, and Lavender are all bullpen arms with Triple-A experience. As Mets fans have seen so far this spring, Lavender is impressive with a fastball that plays up because of the vertical approach angle. He struck out a whopping 36.4% of the batters he faced last season between Double-A and Triple-A. I have to believe it’s more of a matter of when Lavender makes his debut in 2024 than if he does.
Position Players
Parada and Senger are the two extra catchers in camp, and neither of them figures to debut in 2024. Senger, a fine defender, spent the entire season at Double-A last year with a .602 OPS. Parada, the Mets’ first-round pick in 2022, struggled all around last year for a player who was expected to be an advanced hitter. Both should start the season in Double-A Binghamton.
With Williams and Gilbert, this is where things really start to get interesting and exciting for Mets fans. They are the Mets top two prospects and both will have a chance to play in the majors this season.
For me, Gilbert is the Mets’ No. 1 prospect and is more likely to see big league time this year. Part of my reasoning for both is that Gilbert is a good defender in center field, and I believe he will stay there for much of his career. He’s also going to start the season in Triple-A Syracuse after hitting .325/.423/.561 in 35 games for Double-A Binghamton following his trade from the Astros for Justin Verlander. Gilbert will be a Harrison Bader or Starling Marte injury away from potentially seeing playing time in the majors with the Mets.
Williams walked 104 times and stole 45 bases last year, and he’s only 20 years old. The 2022 first-rounder also had 43 extra-base hits on the season, including 13 home runs in 121 games between Low-A St. Lucie, High-A Brooklyn and Double-A. He has played mostly shortstop in his career, though he has seen 22 games in center field and will likely get exposure to second base this spring. Williams will probably start the season in Double-A and could move to Triple-A with a fast start. If the Mets are out of it in the second half and Williams is in Triple-A, there will certainly be calls from fans to see what they have in the talented youngster.
Other Potential Debuts
We’ve certainly already touched on the most likely players who will make their major league debuts in 2024, but sometimes a player of two surprises with a good start to the season and a need arises. Most of the time, this type of player comes from the bullpen when teams are going through a bunch of arms, so we will focus there.
- RHPs Nolan Clenney, Dedniel Núñez, Trey McLoughlin, Justin Jarvis, Wilkin Ramos, Paul Gervase – Given his ability to miss bats, Gervase definitely has a chance to leap into the big leagues this year. Ramos gets a ton of ground balls and opponents simply have a hard time barreling against him. I would throw lefty Daniel Juarez in the mix as well; he showed a velo bump in his first spring outing.
- After pitchers, you have depth guys like Luke Ritter, Brandon McIlwain, and Carlos Cortes, who will be in Triple-A for the Mets, and a couple of injuries could turn into options. Utility player Jeremiah Jackson, who the Mets got in the trade for Dominic Leone, is another possibility if injuries compound. He’s a higher ranked prospect than the three players listed above. He had 22 home runs and 27 stolen bases in 119 Double-A games last year.
Baseball is a long, grueling season, with injuries always having the potential to ruin a team’s plans, forcing the need to bring up guys from Triple-A before they prefer to. What the Mets ultimately decide to do at the trade deadline will also affect how many of the players listed above we see in the majors this season. I would expect Scott, Vasil, Lavender and Gilbert to be among the group we definitely see make their major league debuts in 2024 with the Mets.
