Top 75 Mets Prospects: 75-71 Led By Lefties

I released my Top 75 Mets prospects last month once the international free agency period kicked off, and now I will start getting more in-depth with info on the players. I talk to coaches, scouts, and front-office folks, watch games, and dig into public and team metrics to formulate my lists.

No. 75 Raimon Gomez

B/T: R/R Age: 22 (9/6/2001)
Height: 6’2 Weight: 224
Acquired: International Free Agency (2021)
Previous Rank: NR (30th this time last year)
2023 Stats (High-A Brooklyn): 0-0, 6.43 ERA, 3 GS, 7 IP, 9 BB, 12 K

Raimon Gómez dropped quite a bit on my list from the start of last year due to a rough start to his High-A career before needing season-ending Tommy John surgery, and the Mets added quite a few prospects through trades during the year. The 22-year-old will hope to return to the mound at some point during the 2024 season.

Gomez throws hard, he consistently hits the upper 90s during his outings and his blazing fastball is also above average when it comes to spin rate. The secondary stuff for Gomez is mostly a slider and cutter, but given the strength of his four-seamer and its effectiveness in the lower minors, he has thrown his fastball a majority of the time.

2024 Outlook: Gomez had his TJS early in the 2023 season, so he could make it back to pitch in the second half of 2024. I would expect him to return to the Cyclones once he’s fully healthy.
Key Stat: 67 innings, that’s all Gomez has thrown to this point of his career. The hard-thrower will need to show he’s healthy in 2024 to climb up the rankings.

 

No. 74 Dylan Tebrake

B/T: R/R Age: 24 (7/13/1999)
Height: 6’3 Weight: 225
Acquired: 8th Rd pick of 2022 Draft from Creighton University
Previous Rank: NR
2023 Stats (Brooklyn/AA Binghamton): 2.61 ERA, 18 G, 6 GF, 31 IP, 1.13 WHIP, 11.9 BB%, 37.3 K%

Dylan Tebrake was a two-time Big East Pitcher of the Year with Creighton as a starter, though he has pitched almost exclusively in the Mets farm system since being drafted. Tebrake only pitched 4 2/3 innings in 2022 after being drafted. He didn’t allow a run in that span with the FCL Mets and Low-A St. Lucie Mets, and struck out eight with no walks. The 24-year-old started the 2023 season with the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones, posting a 2.08 ERA and striking out a whopping 39.2% of the hitters he faced.

Tebrake received a late-season promotion to Double-A Binghamton, where he tossed five innings and allowed three runs while striking out five and walking three. Tebrake did miss the last month or so of the season with a hip issue.

Despite being the Big East Pitcher of the Year in 2021, Tebrake went undrafted. He knew he needed to add something for the 2022 season, so he went to Tread in hopes of adding velo, and he did just that. After being mostly 88-92, he jumped to sitting 92-94 and topping out at 97 mph. Tebrake uses a full starter arsenal still out of the pen.

2024 Outlook: I would expect Tebrake to start the season in Double-A Binghamton with a chance to continue his fast track if he stays in the bullpen.
Key Stat: His 37.3 K% ranked fourth among Mets pitchers with at least 30 innings last season.

No. 73 Eli Ankeney

B/T: L/L Age: 23 (1/10/2001)
Height: 6’0 Weight: 200
Acquired: 20th RD pick of 2022 Draft from Grand Canyon University
Previous Rank: NR
2023 Stats (Low-A St. Lucie/Brooklyn): 3.07 ERA, 41 IP, 1.27 WHIP, .188 AVG, 13.8 BB%, 29.3 K%

Eli Ankeney is the first of two left-handers on this list from Grand Canyon University whom the Mets have drafted over the last couple of years. He was fantastic in his final year at GCU, with a 2.90 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and 61 strikeouts in 40 innings as a reliever. The Mets gave him a small sniff of pro baseball in 2022 when he pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings with six strikeouts for the FCL Mets. He didn’t allow a hit or walk.

Ankeney continued to impress in his first full season in the minors last year between the Low-A St. Lucie Mets and High-A Brooklyn Cyclones. The lefty dominated in St. Lucie, with nine scoreless innings that included 14 strikeouts and only two walks and two hits allowed. Ankeney struggled a bit once he got to Brooklyn, posting a 3.94 ERA in 32 innings. He struggled with walks at 6.2 per nine innings and his strikeouts went down to 10.4 per nine innings.

Ankeney is 90-93 mph with his fastball, but he gets elite vertical movement on the pitch. He also throws a slider 80-82 and a split-change.

2024 Outlook: It is possible that Ankeney will start the season in Double-A Binghamton, and the success of his 2024 is riding on his command.
Key Stat: Opponents hit only .188 against Ankeney; that’s the fourth-lowest average among Mets minor leaguers who pitched at least 40 innings last year.

No. 72 Franklin Gomez

B/T: L/L Age: 18 (7/6/2005)
Height: 6’0 Weight: 145
Acquired: Signed as International Free Agent in 2022
Previous Rank: NR
2023 Stats (DSL/FCL Mets/St. Lucie): 2.66 ERA, 13 G, 9 GS, 50 2/3 IP, 1.07 WHIP, .195 AVG, 8.1 BB%, 33.8 K%

Franklin Gomez started his second season in pro ball with the Dominican Summer League Mets before heading stateside to pitch with the FCL Mets and then ending his season by making his full-season debut only two months after he turned 18 with the St. Lucie Mets. In his final seven appearances of the season, Gomez was lights out: 34.2 IP, 20 H, 6 ER, 6 BB, 45 K, 1.56 ERA. Opponents had a .411 OPS against him during that span.

The left-hander is 88-91 mph with his fastball, and he also throws a sweeper and a changeup with good arm-side run.

2024 Outlook: The 18-year-old could begin the season back with the St. Lucie Mets.
Key Stat: Gomez and Wilkin Ramos were the only two pitchers with at least 50 innings in the Mets system last year who didn’t give up a home run.

No. 71 Zach Thornton

B/T: L/L Age: 22 (1/7/2002)
Height: 6’3 Weight: 170
Acquired: Drafted in 5th Rd of 2023 Draft from Grand Canyon University
Previous Rank: NR
2023 Stats: 3.87 ERA, 15 GS, 88.1 IP, 1.33 WHIP, 18 BB, 91 K (college)

Zach Thornton did not make his pro debut last year after the Mets selected him in the fifth round of the draft out of Grand Canyon University. MLB Pipeline had Thornton as the No. 165 prospect in the 2023 draft (he was taken 159th overall).

Thornton uses a fastball (sitting 89-92, up to 94 mph),  slider, changeup, curveball, and worked in a cutter last year. Control is seen as his best attribute and could keep him as a starter long-term. Thornton features long-arm action and comes from a three-quarter slot

2024 Outlook: I would expect the 22-year-old to get his pro career started in the St. Lucie Mets rotation to start the year.
Key Stat: Since breaking his pinky toe as a kid, the toe now kind of just lays on top of his ring toe, which allows him to wear a size lower shoe on his left foot.