(Photo Credit: Mark LoMoglio/MiLB.com)

In April of this year, I wrote an article detailing the top eight shortstop prospects in the Mets system (the article can be found here). Leading the charge was the Mets number 3 prospect (at the time) Amed Rosario. In that April article, I called him “a slick fielder, with an average bat” due to his middling numbers in the various levels of A ball he spent his time in leading up to this season. His glove was always going to be his ticket to the majors, with his bat being just good enough.

That was before this season. 2016 has shown us an entirely different Amed Rosario.

The first 82 games (between High-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton) can only be described as a breakout year. In 66 games for St. Lucie, Rosario slashed .309/.359/.442, with three home runs, 40 RBIs and 13 stolen bases, with a 135 wRC+. On top of that, he had 10 doubles and eight triples.

He has not cooled off thus far through 16 games in Binghamton, slashing a ridiculous .424/.462/.610 with 12 RBIs and a 176 wRC+. He has five doubles and three triples as well. His 11 triples overall are tied for the most in all of baseball. The 20 year-old shortstop has hit everything so far this year, and it has caught the attention of the entire league.

MLB.com now has him listed as the second-best prospect in the Mets system, behind Dominic Smith. Baseball America named him to June’s All-Prospect team. Baseball Prospectus named him the 15^th best prospect in all of baseball. Baseball America just released their Top 100 Midseason prospects with Rosario coming in at #18. The Mets front office considers him to be too valuable to trade, even with a Mets team vying for a playoff spot.

Amed Rosario is a name that every Mets fan will soon know, if they do not already, because of the growing hype behind his game.

To put his offensive explosion into perspective, his two best performances at any level are as such: in 2014 in Low-A ball he slashed .289/.337/.380, with one home run, 23 RBIs, and seven steals, with a 111 wRC+, alongside 11 doubles and five triples in 68 games. His other best performance before 2016 came in 2015 with St. Lucie, where he slashed .257/.307/.335 with no home runs, 25 RBIs and 12 steals. He had a (still career high) 20 doubles, five triples, and a 97 wRC+ in 103 games. This is a far cry away from his 2016 numbers. He was always an average hitter, but that is not the case anymore.

Rosario has completely blown away his previous career highs in almost every hitting category, and has blossomed into a legitimate elite prospect, both in the Mets front office’s eyes, and baseball’s eyes in general. He is not without his flaws, however, with limited power (three is a career high in home runs), and an almost non-existent walk rate (7.2 percent in High-A and 8.9 percent in Double-A, both of which are well above his previous career high of 5.9% however).

On top of his bat growing, his glove has stayed well above-average as well, and all signs point to Rosario having an impact in Queens in a few years.

If I, or anyone else, has learned anything about Amed Rosario, it is this: don’t be surprised, be ready.