(Tom Priddy/MiLB.com)
The New York Mets have traded a wealth of minor league talent since Brodie Van Wagenen has taken over as the General Manager. Even with all the prospects which have been traded away, in their final ratings of the 2019 season, MLB Pipeline has ranked three Mets prospects among their top 100.
The highest rated was SS Ronny Mauricio. In rating him the 81st best prospect in baseball, MLB Pipeline said Mauricio “has as much upside as anyone in the organization, with a real chance to become an impact player on both sides of the ball.” There were glimpses of that with Mauricio hitting .268/.307/.357 with 20 doubles, five triples, four homers, and 37 RBI for Columbia in his first full professional season.
Rated just after Mauricio was Brett Baty, who was the Mets first round draft pick this season. The 19 year old third baseman would begin the year in the Gulf Coast League, and he would finish the season making an impact for the Brooklyn Cyclones who would win their first outright New York-Penn League title. During this season, he would hit .234/.368/.452 with 16 doubles, two triples, seven homers, and 33 RBI. Ultimately, he would show the potential MLB Pipeline referred to as “an advanced hitter than just a pure masher, one who makes repeated hard contact, isn’t fooled by breaking pitches and doesn’t get caught selling out for power.”
The final Mets prospect rated on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 was SS Andres Gimenez. It should be noted his being rated 93 is a steep drop from his being rated 58 entering the 2019 season. Part of the reason for the drop is Gimenez struggling in Double-A this year hitting .250/.309/.387 with 22 doubles, five triples, nine homers, and 37 RBI.
Even with the down year, which was partially the result of his dealing with a hand injury, he is still considered a top prospect in the game. In fact, MLB Pipeline noted if Gimenez were part of another organization, he “would be the heir apparent at shortstop.”
Given the moves the Mets made this offseason, there should also be an examination of what their system could have been. On that note, Jarred Kelenic was rated the 14th best prospect, and Justin Dunn was rated 71st. Anthony Kay was not included in these final ratings, but he has been previously rated by MLB Pipeline as part of their top 100.
Looking forward, the Mets have some prospects who could crack MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 at some point in 2020. Front and center is Francisco Alvarez. The 17 year old catcher hit .312/.407/.510 with 10 doubles, seven homers, and 26 RBI for Gulf Coast and Kingsport. Other names to keep an eye on going forward include Matthew Allan, Shervyen Newton, Mark Vientos, and based upon the progress hes’ made this year, Kevin Smith.
