Photo by Ed Delany, MMO
Brodie Van Wagenen was hired on October 29, 2018 becoming the 13th general manager in the history of the New York Mets franchise.
In the 15-plus months he’s had the job, Van Wagenen has traded away in excess of ten prospects to acquire major league ready players as he employs his win-now strategy for the team. The prospects were Jarred Kelenic, Justin Dunn, Luis Santana, Ross Adolph, Scott Manea, Bobby Wahl, Adam Hill, Felix Valerio, Anthony Kay, Simeon Woods Richardson, Blake Taylor, and Kenedy Corona. Of those, four have been named in the top 100 prospects as named by John Sickels of The Athletic.
Those four are Kelenic who is ranked 12th, Richardson (70th), Dunn (83rd) and Kay (86th).
The Mets have only one player currently on the list and that is shortstop Ronny Mauricio who is rated as the 72nd most promising prospect. The Mets, then, have traded four top-100 prospects and have but one remaining. But that one remaining, according to many scouts, oozes potential and although he is not projected to make it to the majors until at least 2023, has the raw tools necessary to become an outstanding player.
Photo by Ed Delany, MMO
Much more will be written about Mauricio on MMO as the site counts down the Mets top prospects but near or at the top of the list is this 18-year old from the Dominican Republic. He signed for a club record $2.1 million during the 2017-2018 international signing period besting the signing bonus of fellow Dominican Amed Rosario who has been a mentor and friend of Mauricio’s.
In fact, Mauricio told SNY, “Rosario was very supportive and has always offered a helping hand, I’d love the chance to play in the Major Leagues with the Mets and with him one day. I would like that a lot.”
Mauricio is a switch hitter who throws right-handed. He is 6’3″ and weighs 185 pounds. He has shown excellent defensive skills at Low-A Columbia where he spent the 2019 season. His slash line was a respectable .268/.307/.357. Scouts project that as he gains weight and matures, he may be better suited as a third baseman.
The most surprising omission on Sickels’ list in terms of the Mets, is catcher Francisco Alvarez. The youngster was in the top 100 for Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, and Baseball Prospectus. MLB Pipeline had the Mets with four top 100 prospects, Baseball Prospectus with three, and BA with two.
Van Wagenen has said goodbye to a fair amount of impressive talent. Time will tell if he made the right move in trading top prospects to win in the short-term.
