No. 5 Hayden Senger

Age: April 3, 1997 (23)  Bats/Throws: R/R  2019 Level: Columbia (A)
Acquired: Selected in the 24th round of the 2018 Amateur Draft from Miami University of Ohio
2019 Stats: 353 PA, .230/.324/.345, 21 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 36 RBI, 0 SB, 0 CS, 25 BB, 64 K

Senger unsurprisingly regressed in his first full season of professional baseball, after he posted a .411 OBP in limited action spent between Kingsport and Brooklyn in 2018. There was always going to be some skepticism with Senger given that he didn’t find success until a breakout senior season, so at 23 years old, it is going to be an interesting test for him once baseball finally does return.

One upside with Senger is that he is very strong defensively, as he increased his caught stealing rate from 31% to 38% last year. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a lot of pop in his bat, so he’s going to have the make the most his on-base skills to have a chance at contributing at the highest level.

No. 4 Endy Rodriguez

Age: May 26, 2000 (19)  Bats/Throws: S/R  2019 Level: DSL, GCL (Rookie)
Acquired: Signed as an international free agent in 2018
2019 Stats: 124 PA, .294/.411/.510, 14 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 4 SB, 0 CS, 15 BB, 18 K

International free agents are always a bit of a mystery in some respects, as you don’t always have as much information about them or know what you’re going to get from them, and you have to be extra patient with them as many of them start their professional careers as young as 16.

Rodriguez, however, has joined the Mets organization and done as well as you could have asked. One thing that sticks out is his 1.26 K/BB ratio through his first 265 professional plate appearances. Even in 2018 when he batted .197 in 24 games with the DSL Mets 1, he still walked 15 times compared to only 17 strikeouts, giving him a .333 OBP. Despite not showing a ton of early power, he went on to rake with the DSL Mets 2, batting .385/.444/.487 in 11 games.

He really hit his stride in 2019 though, so much so that FanGraphs ranked him as the 13th best prospect in the Mets organization this past winter. He posted a .921 OPS and .411 OBP while keeping a consistent K/BB ratio of 18/15. His defense is also said to be very strong, as he has posted a 42% caught stealing rate through his first two professional seasons. Just a small note though is that his CS% went from 45 to 31 from 2018 to 2019, but again, we’re dealing with pretty small samples here.

Here’s a clip of Rodriguez hitting a homer from the left side last summer:

Earlier today @fangraphs ranked #Mets minor league catcher Endy Rodriguez as the no. 13 prospect in the organization.

Here’s a homer he hit in the DSL over the summer: pic.twitter.com/XdM6MxGDOo

— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) January 10, 2020

Of course, there’s still a long way to go, as Rodriguez is still a teenager and is yet to come stateside yet. There’s certainly reason to pump the brakes and not get too excited just yet, as the real tests are going to come as Rodriguez progresses through the upper levels of the minors. For now, though, it’s hard not to be happy with Rodriguez’s solid first impressions.

No. 3 Patrick Mazeika

Age: October 14, 1993 (26)  Bats/Throws: L/R  2019 Level: Binghamton (AA)
Acquired: Selected in the 8th round of the 2015 Amateur Draft from Stetson University
2019 Stats: 462 PA, .245/.312/.426, 25 2B, 1 3B, 16 HR, 69 RBI, 1 SB, 0 CS, 37 BB, 89 K

It’s been a stagnant road for Mazeika, as his progression has kind of slowed to a halt over the last couple of years. Always known as a bat-first catcher, he was drafted in the eighth round after three remarkably consistent collegiate seasons in which he batted .348/.469/.484 overall.

Mazeika continued to hit through 2017, consistently keeping the same contact first, power second approach. However, as many feared with him, his lack of ceiling started to show as he reached Double-A and his average fell by 60 points.

In 2018, Mazeika played his first full season with Binghamton, and batted just .231/.328/.363. Interestingly, he still walked four more times than he struck out, so it wasn’t his approach or style of play that changed — his game simply didn’t translate as well to the tougher competition.

Mazeika got another chance in 2019 with the Rumble Ponies last year, and his line improved only slightly to .245/.312/.426. At age 26, he is still yet to play a game at Triple-A, and the reality is that he simply doesn’t have the power or the advanced bat-to-ball skills to succeed at the highest level. And unfortunately, unlike other catchers who excel defensively, he’s going to need to hit his way to the majors. He spent some more time at first base in 2019, but he definitely doesn’t have the bat to stick there going forward.

All is not completely lost with Mazeika, but after two lackluster and inconsistent years in Binghamton, he’s going to need to improve soon to even get his name on the radar for a potential call-up.

No. 2 Ali Sanchez

Age: January 20, 1997 (23)  Bats/Throws: R/R  2019 Level: Binghamton (AA), Syracuse (AAA)
Acquired: Signed as an international free agent in 2013
2019 Stats: 359 PA, .261/.326/.322, 17 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 33 RBI, 1 SB, 1 CS, 28 BB, 63 K

Perhaps the polar opposite of number-three-ranked Mazeika, Sanchez is a defense-first who has showed glimpses of having more life in his bat over the last couple of seasons. Sanchez has an impressive 46% caught stealing rate and is known as being a great blocker.

Through 2017, his bat left a lot to be desired with an OPS well below .600. However, in 2018 he got it up to .691 as he doubled his career high with six home runs. In 2019, he sacrificed some power for a higher OBP, and had his strongest season yet for Binghamton. While his numbers in 21 games for Syracuse brought his overall season stats down, the fact that he even got to Triple-A at age 22 is noteworthy enough and speaks well for his future.

While Sanchez’s ceiling is still very low, his slow but steady progression over the last couple of seasons is encouraging and could very well give him a future as a major league backup catcher. He has the defensive ability to do it, the only question is if his bat will remain respectable enough to be a backup at the highest level.

No. 1 Francisco Alvarez

Age: November 19, 2001 (18)  Bats/Throws: R/R  2019 Level: GCL, Kingsport (Rookie)
Acquired: Signed as an international free agent in 2018
2019 Stats: 182 PA, .312/.407/.510, 10 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 26 RBI, 1 SB, 2 CS, 21 BB, 37 K

One of the most exciting prospects in the Mets organization (we ranked him third on the MMO Top 30 Prospects list), Alvarez is far and away the Mets’ best catching prospect.

As one of the top 15 international prospects in 2018, the Mets gave Alvarez a team record $2.7 million signing bonus and he did not disappoint in his taste of professional baseball.

Here’s a video from Alvarez’s first three-hit game in July of last year:

A day after homering on the anniversary of his signing (below), #Mets catching prospect Francisco Alvarez has his first three-hit game as a pro.

He’s hitting .462 with a 1.394 OPS in 7 games in the GCL. pic.twitter.com/eWWiwmPRrc

— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) July 3, 2019

He’s fairly short, but has a strong frame at 5’11”, 220 lbs. that he uses to add extra power. In addition to very strong bat-to-ball skills, he is said in particular to have impressive opposite-field power, which is a sign that he could be a special hitter.

While his caught stealing rates didn’t jump off the charts in his first professional season, multiple scouts have remarked on his tremendous arm strength, which is particularly impressive at such a young age. Alvarez’s ceiling is off the charts, and is arguably the highest in the entire system. If Alvarez pans out, he could be a serious All-Star caliber bat.