Photo by Ed Delany, MMO
Sources have told me that the Class-A Columbia Fireflies infield will include teenage prospects SS Ronny Mauricio, 3B Mark Vientos, and INF Shervyen Newton.
The 17-year-old Mauricio was our No. 3 Mets prospects and was ranked as high as No. 68 in FanGraphs’ Top 100 MLB prospects.
Mauricio signed for a Mets record (since broken) $2.1 million in 2017. The switch-hitter got a chance to play in a few major league spring games this month and handled himself just fine, going 3-for-7 with three RBIs. He also held his own during pro debut in 2018 with a .713 OPS between GCL and Kingsport Mets.
Vientos, 19, was the Mets second round pick in 2017 out of Florida. We have him as our No. 4 prospect and Keith Law had the high-upside bat ranked No. 60 in baseball. He hit .287/.389/.489 with 11 homers in 60 games for Kingsport last season.
Newton came in as our No. 9 after hitting .280/.409/.449 with 16 doubles, two triples, and five homers in 56 games for Kingsport in 2018. Despite being 6’4”, the switch-hitter has been working at second base this spring. He’s naturally a shortstop and has also played played both corner infield spots.
