Carlos Cortes, Photo By Ernest Dove
No. 15 Carlos Cortes, 2B
B/T: L/S Age: 22 (6/30/1997)
Height: 5’7″ Weight: 197 lbs
ETA: 2021 Previous Rank: No. 25
Acquired: 3rd round in 2018 from University of South Carolina
2019 Stats: 127 Games, .255/.336/.397, 26 2B, 11 HR, 68 RBI, 119 wRC+
The second time was the charm for the New York Mets who originally drafted but did not sign Carlos Cortes out of high school in 2016. They would not to be denied again in 2018 when they took Carlos in the third round and gave him a $1,000,038 bonus.
Now the Mets have a hard hitting middle infielder in the system who seems poised to break out in 2020 likely in the upper minors after starting and ending the 2019 season with Class high-A St. Lucie Mets.
Cortes played with the Brooklyn Cyclones affiliate out of the draft slashing .264 /338/.382, playing exclusively at second base for the Cyclones in 47 games. Then Carlos, at age 22, was pushed past Low A and played the 2019 season with the St. Lucie Mets. The most impressive stat overall regarding Carlos in 2019 with Lucie, was his slash line with runners in scoring position where he was .342/.415/.508 on the year.
Carlos showed an ability to hit for power, barreling up on the ball often, accounting for 40 XBH during the season while also by the view of this writer often falling victim to the dreaded BABIP (.281).
Carlos Cortes also did not shy away from going opposite field, which could also further explain the impressive numbers with RISP. In the Florida State League for the season Cortes ranked at or near the top 15 in 11 offensive categories, including ranking second in RBIs, third in total bases, fourth in runs scored and finishing top ten in walks, doubles and hits.
Defensively, Cortes has worked hard to make himself a passable defender at second base. He has played there almost exclusively, the ambidextrous Florida native played one game in left field late last year. A position he played a lot in college. He even caught and pitched in high school.
I spoke with Carlos this off-season about the process, training, preparation and planning for the coming season. As of now Carlos still sees himself going forward at the second base position, but would go in the outfield if requested as well to add to his versatility to go with his bat. His lack of speed and arm strength makes second base his likely long-term fit.
I remain very high on Carlos Cortes, reporting early on in spring 2019 to avoid the box scores after a rough start in the stat sheets in April slashing .232/.289/.317/.606. I saw the potential in the bat, the balls hit hard in play or just foul, he was the victim of bad luck early. Myself and fans were rewarded in May, when Carlos slashed .303/.355/.505. Later in August, he hit .290/.389/.484 and finished the season being named an All Star by the Florida State League.
There is still a potential breakout year in his bat. I would expect an assignment in Double-A Binghamton for 2020 with potential to move up to Syracuse. He has good power that is brought by above average bat speed and a swing with an upward plane. In addition to his power, he struck out only 16.8% of the time in 2019.
Previous Rankings
16 Freddy Valdez – OF
19 Alexander Ramirez – OF
20 Ali Sanchez – C
