In what has become a disappointing season for the New York Mets, they have called up and let prospects such as Brett Baty, Francisco Álvarez , and Mark Vientos get at-bats and experience at the major league level. While they have all experienced their ups and downs, these players have shown that they may have what it takes to be the future building blocks of the next contending Mets teams.
While this has happened, the once heralded Ronny Mauricio has been held down in Triple-A Syracuse, working on his positional versatility as he continues to crush the baseball. So the real question is — with a little over a month left in the season, and nothing to play for other than player development — why not call up your next top prospect and let him prove whether or not he can handle the big leagues?
Mauricio, a switch-hitter, has been labeled a top-100 prospect since as early as 2019 with a promising power/speed profile at the shortstop position. With the trade and then contract extension of Francisco Lindor, however, it became obvious that Mauricio would not be the Mets’ shortstop of the future. At that point the organization should have begun the experiment of getting Mauricio experience at any other position and seeing which one he took to. Instead, Mauricio didn’t get any professional experience at a position other than shortstop until 2023. This season, Mauricio has played 55 games at second base with 12 errors, 27 games at shortstop with seven errors, 26 games in left field with two errors and two games at third base with one error.
Ronny Mauricio. Photo by James Farrance
While the error totals at second base are high, it seems to be his most-likely position in the long-term. In August, he has committed three errors in 13 games.
However, what is going to bring Mauricio up to the majors is his bat. After a rough June and July, Mauricio has come alive in August, hitting .303 with seven home runs, eight stolen bases with .921 OPS and an 11/21 BB/K ratio. Of his 30 hits this month, 13 have gone for extra bases. Over the course of the entire year, Mauricio is already a member of the 20/20 club, with 23 HR and 24 SB. So, what are the Mets waiting on?
Right now, the Mets are playing some combination of Jonathan Araúz, Danny Mendick and Jeff McNeil at second base. McNeil has been playing more outfield as of late due to injuries, so it would seem logical to give Mauricio a shot over two players that don’t factor into the Mets’ future
Mauricio has gotten comparisons to the likes of Alfonso Soriano for both his power/speed combination and his propensity for poor plate discipline. Soriano went on to have a great career despite his flaws, and Mauricio has nothing left to prove in Triple-A. He would be better served refining his approach at the MLB level both offensively and defensively. It would implore the Mets to spend the last month starting Mauricio every day at any position available to let him get a head start on the 2024 season.
Danny Mendick is hitting .190 in 63 at-bats with one HR, and Jonathan Araúz, is hitting .127 in 55 at-bats with two HR, so it isn’t like they are replacing players who are hitting well, (such as, say, DJ Stewart) with an unproven prospect.
Ronny Mauricio has proven all he can in Syracuse and the Mets should be calling him up because his upside is so high, and if he is going to be part of the future, what better time to start then now?
