The Mets sent nine players to the Arizona Fall League, including four position players and five pitchers. While just one of these prospects is in the organization’s top 30 prospects, each has enough talent for intrigue. Some players may have been sent to Arizona to fill out the roster and provide depth, but we’ve seen many of these depth players in recent years still make it to the majors. Here is a preview of the nine players before the Fall League begins on October 2.

Kevin Parada, Photos by Bronson Harris of Binghamton Rumble Ponies

C Kevin Parada

Parada is the Mets’ fifth overall prospect and the 89 overall prospect in baseball. He is also the lone representative from the Mets in the top 30 prospects to participate in the Fall League. At just 22 years old, Parada reached Double-A in his first full professional season and hit 14 round-trippers as a catcher. While the power is there, Parada needs to cut down on his strikeouts. In 16 games in Binghamton, he posted high swing and miss rates and an alarming 37.7 K%. If he cuts down on the strikeouts he’ll be able to take advantage of his high exit velocities, which have reached above 110 mph. All eyes will be on Parada due to his status in the Mets organization as 2022’s first rounder and this experience could be a telling stint for his project ability moving forward.

2B/OF Rowdey Jordan

Rowdey drastically improved his versatility with more reps at second base this season. He had a miserable start to the season but went on a tear in the middle of the season and ended with league-average numbers. His 13 homers, 64 RBIs, .743 OPS, 65 BBs, and 20 Ks were all within 10% of the Double-A league average. He did swipe 31 bases and has above-average, top-end exit velocities but needs to hit the ball harder in the air more often to really make strides moving forward. The Fall League will be a good opportunity for him to continue to leverage his strengths and separate himself from the pack.

1B JT Schwartz

JT was a no-brainer to send to the fall league after an injury-riddled 2023 season that saw him miss two months of action between May and July. He put up a .881 OPS in Double-A after his return from injury in July and finished with a .801 OPS on the season. While he has posted great strikeout rates and just slightly below average walk rates, he’ll need to up power production to project as a first baseman. His path to the majors with the Mets won’t be easy, as Pete Alonso is blocking him at first, and Schwartz only has 10 homers in 741 MiLB at-bats. He has, however, gotten reps in the outfield to make himself more versatile. Schwartz does have great bat-to-ball skills, nearly reaching a .300 average this season, and can hopefully keep developing bat speed to add exit velocity.

2B D’Andre Smith

Smith was a fifth-rounder out of USC in 2022 and is another prospect in the group that needs more reps this fall. He played in just 64 games this season, all in Brooklyn, and posted a pedestrian .237 average and .674 OPS. Smith is just 22 years old and will look to use his fall league opportunity to show the organization that he is deserving of prospect status and not simply an organizational filler.

RHP Jordan Geber

Geber just completed his first full season in the Mets organization on a high note. He earned a promotion to Binghamton in August and in his 20 Double-A innings, he did not walk a batter or allow a run. While his strikeout rate was a bit low at 17.6%, his command led to a 0.00 ERA. The free agent sign saw his status soar after this run with the Rumble Ponies despite below-average stuff on the mound. He averages 91-92 on the fastball with average movement but has a solid slider at 82 with good glove-side movement and an above-average change-up. He will likely need to throw slightly fewer fastballs against better competition, however, but his command will take him far.

RHP Trey McLoughlin

McLoughlin posted a breakout 2023 season between his stints in Brooklyn and Binghamton. In each destination, he posted better than average walk (8.7% in High-A; 6.8% in Double-A) and strikeout rates (37.7% in High-A, 26.5% in Double-A). He spent the bulk of the season with the Rumble Ponies, throwing 36.2 innings out of the bullpen and finishing with a 3.19 ERA for Reid Brignac’s team. He throws a high-vertical break four-seam that averages 92 mph and touches 95, a gyro slider at 82 mph, and a splitter that also has some gyro action with slight arm side movement and low spin at 85 mph. He works vertically in the zone and has a platoon-neutral arsenal. Trey will look to start 2024 in Triple-A and use the Fall League to boost his stock in the organization.

RHP Brendan Hardy

As recently detailed, Hardy is the perfect player to send to the Fall League. After missing the first month of the season, he put up a second consecutive fantastic campaign heading into minor league free agency. He struck out 46 hitters in just 32 innings between Brooklyn and Binghamton and boasts outlier characteristics on the mound. He debatably has the best extension in the minors, averages 92.5 on his fastball but touches 95+, and has a nasty sweeper. He likely will be left off of the 40-man roster and reach minor league free agency, but if all goes well he could get resigned on a minor league deal and compete to start 2024 in Syracuse.

RHP Nolan Clenney

Clenney’s peripherals don’t necessarily indicate prospect, as the 27-year-old is a bit on the old side and had a bit higher ERA than one would expect heading into Fall League competition. However, those characteristics do not tell the whole story. Clenney has a big-league slider averaging 86 mph. He throws this gyro slider as his primary pitch at 50% usage and recently added a two-seam to go along with his four-seam fastball which averages north of 94 mph. While he finished with a 5.36 ERA in Double-A and a 6.08 ERA in Triple-A, Clenney boasted better-than-average walk rates with each affiliate and put up a blistering 35.6 K% in Syracuse. With several major league caliber pitchers, Clenney could put together a strong Fall League campaign and look to turn heads in big league spring training.

LHP Tyler Thomas

Thomas was first drafted by the Cubs in 2017 and traded for Jesse Chavez to the Rangers in 2018. He was released from the Rangers’ Double-A affiliate in August of 2022 and started the 2023 season with the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League. He got off to a dominant start of the season, pitching to a 0.90 ERA in 20 innings of work before the Mets purchased his contract. He then posted nearly identical numbers in Binghamton in 22 innings of work, sporting a 0.79 ERA. He shuttled back and forth between Binghamton and Syracuse at the end of the season, posting a 6.75 ERA in Triple-A. Thomas is a lefty with a solid fastball averaging 92 mph, a plus change-up used to strike out right-handed hitters, and a sweeper. The Mets are clearly excited about their potential diamond in the rough.