No. 50 Christian Scott, RHP
Age: 22 (6/15/1999)
HT: 6’4, WT: 215
B/T: R/R
Acquired: 5th Rd in 2021 Draft – University of Florida
ETA: 2024 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats (FCL Mets): 3 IP, 1 ER, 1 K
The former Florida reliever will tell you that the slider is now his best pitch, though it wasn’t always the case. Following his freshman year of college, Scott saw a tweet from Pitching Ninja that showed a Max Scherzer slider and it started there according to Baseball America. Scott watched more video of Scherzer to learn the grip that the multiple Cy Young winner used. Scott also learned his changeup grip from watching Lucas Giolito on Pitching Ninja’s account.
Scott also features a fastball in the low-to-mid 90s (has touched 98) that he calls a two-seamer. The fastball has been described as heavy with riding life. Scott notes in the BA article that he is trying to mirror that pitch using the Giolito two-seam changeup with late life. Scott showed better fastball control in 2021 and overall, he walked only 1.5 batters per nine innings. He still rarely uses the changeup, and it’s certainly a pitch that needs work to be a weapon against left-handed hitters.
Back to his best pitch, the slider. Generally in the 83-88 mph range that is his swing and miss pitch. Slider has a short, tight bite to it that generates most of his strikeouts. He did a better job of keeping his slider low in the zone last year, though something to watch going forward.
A significant head whack limits Scott’s command, and that combined with a lack of consistent third pitch gives him a reliever profile. He has started a few games in the past, but 25 of his 26 appearances for the Gators was out of the pen in 2021. With a strong fastball/slider combo you could see Scott move up the Mets system pretty quickly as a late-game reliever.
No. 49 Nick Meyer, C
Age: 24 (2/18/1997)
HT: 6’1, WT: 200
B/T: R/R
Acquired: 6th RD in 2018 Draft – Cal Poly
ETA: 2022 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats (AA/AAA): 257 PA, .251/.337/.324, 87 wRC+, 32% CS
Meyer being in the Top 50 is all about his defense. It’s the reason he got drafted in the sixth round and why he’s made it to the Triple-A level. He has a strong arm with a quick release and has the ability to throw from different angles on stolen base attempts. Meyer also moves well behind the plate, frames well, and has been lauded for his ability to call a game.
He’s absolutely a major league caliber defensive catcher right now.
On the flip side, the power is basically non-existent with a slugging percentage under .300 for his minor league career. On the positive side offensively, he doesn’t strike out much (17% in 2021) and does walk a bit (9%). Meyer moves well for a catcher as well, and he has experience playing third and first base in the minor leagues. He also played a little bit of outfield in college.
Can’t forget to mention that Meyer has one of the best mustaches in the Mets farm system.
Willy Taveras, Photo by Ed Delany of MMO
No. 48 Willy Taveras, RHP
Age: 24 (1/20/1998)
HT: 5’11, WT: 163
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Signed as International Free Agent in 2016
ETA: 2023 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats: (A-/A+/AA) 47.2 IP, 2.45 ERA, 2.57 FIP, 11.33 K/9, 1.13 BB/9, 0.92 WHIP
Some times you can just look at a players statistics to find out why they made this type of list, and that’s exactly it with Taveras. Tough to have a top 50 Mets prospect list without one of the best relievers in the entire farm system from last season. The strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.0/29%) is elite, the 10.00 strikeouts to walks led the Mets minor league system and ranked 12th among 1677 minor league pitchers that threw at least 40 innings in 2021. Also posted a 44.8 ground ball percentage, which is better than the big league average of 42.9% from 2021.
Need to note that Taveras did most of this pitching in Low-A St. Lucie and High-A Brooklyn, he was above the league average age in St. Lucie and right on the line in Brooklyn. He did finish the season with a few innings in Double-A Binghamton, where you would expect him to start 2022.
Taveras uses a four-seamer that sits 92-94, maxed out at 95 mph this past season and his top spin rate on the pitch was 2396 rpms. He has great command of the this pitched and throws it 55-60% of the time. I would certainly describe it as a heavy fastball that coming from over the top that he uses up in the zone for swings and misses.
He also throws a hard changeup (87-89, 90 mph max, 1930 rpm max) and a slider (80-83, 85 mph max, 2709 rpm max) as his two secondaries. He throws both pitches about the same amount, with both being solid but neither one being a plus pitch at the moment. Again, his strength is the ability to control them inside and outside of the strike zone. Taveras is a smaller dude with a straightforward, easily repeatable motion that helps him with the great command of all his pitches.
No. 47 Levi David, RHP
Age: 22 (6/14/1999)
HT: 6’5 WT: 220
B/T: R/R
Acquired: 9th RD of 2021 Draft (Northwestern State University)
ETA: 2024 Previous MMO Ranking: N/a
2021 Stats (College): 61 IP, 4.43 ERA, 1 HR, 6.8 BB/9, 15.3 K/9, 5.0 H/9
Looking at just his college stats from the 2021 season is quite the trip, going from only one home run allowed in 61 innings to 104 strikeouts in that span, and then finally a whopping 46 walks and 19 hit batters. Pretty clear to see the basis scouting report on David is that he has good stuff, but also has no idea where it’s going. His 15.34 K/9 ranked third in the country and his 5.0 H/9 ranked seventh.
I talked to one person in the Mets amateur accounting department about David’s curve, ” It’s one of the best breaking balls I saw before draft.”
Hitters went 5-for-98 with a 72% whiff rate against his curve in 2021. Yeah, it’s a plus-plus pitch, and you don’t see a lot of those kicking around in the ninth round.
You can see that hard breaking ball towards the end of this video, with a sharp and late break. As you can also see from the video, the former state champion swimmer is a big, athletic dude. His length has created issues in his delivery though as he’s very inconsistent with his long arm action being on time with his lower half.
David’s fastball sits 92-94, but has hit upper 90s on occasion, and would likely be more consistently in the uppers 90s as a reliever. He did start 13 of 14 games last season in college, though his lack of a third pitch could certainly force him to the bullpen. The hammer curve he uses has been up to 87 mph with the average in the mid-80s.
Jeremy Booth of New Balance Future Stars talked to me about David, “Enough athleticism to refine his release point and be a true power arm with two plus pitch mix guy. Excellent value in the draft at that point and someone who, when his release point and delivery muscle memory takes hold, will be a fast mover.”
Robert Colina, Photo by Ed Delany of MMO
No. 46 Robert Colina, RHP
Age: 20 (4/24/2001)
HT: 5’11 WT: 175
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Signed as International Free Agent in 2017
ETA: 2025 Previous MMO Ranking: N/A
2021 Stats (GCL & St. Lucie Mets): 51.2 IP, 2.96 ERA, 4.03 FIP, 10.28 K/9, 3.28 BB/9
The young right-hander posted a 2.70 ERA in 23 innings with a 32 strikeout to 6 walk ratio for the GCL Mets before his promotion to St. Lucie. His stint in the PSL, 3.18 ERA over six appearances (five starts) was his first taste of full season ball.
Colina’s best start of the season came in the final one of the year, when he allowed only one run over six innings with seven strikeouts and only one walk. He tossed a career-high 91 pitches with 60 of them for strikes. It was an impressive finish for the 20-year-old that was two years younger than the average age in the Low-A Southeast division.
Though Colina throws his four-seamer a majority of the time (about 60%), he also manipulates his fastball to throw it a variety of different ways at times including a cutter and sinker. His four-seamer is mostly 90-92 mph with a 94 max. His cutter sat in the 89-90 area, while his sinker was 87 to 88.
His best secondary, and probably his best pitch overall, is a big vertical breaking curveball. The curve sits 74-77 mph with a top spin rate of 2824. He gets a ton of vertical break on his curveball, with his max from the season being 65 inches. For reference, former Mets pitcher Rich Hill averaged 65.4 inches of vertical break on his curve in 2021 and current Mets reliever Seth Lugo averaged 61.7 inches.
He also works in a changeup rarely that is pretty hard right now at 86-87 mph. Colina did have a few changeups last season with 18 inches of horizontal break. Again for reference, veteran Charlie Morton was among the league leaders averaging 18 inches of vertical break on his changeup.
Colina has a strong lower half that features a healthy back side. His release point is pretty much right over the top, though he needs to work on consistency throughout his pitches in that area.
This my personal list, but our fine writers at MMN are currently writing about their compiled Top 30 Mets prospects as well.
