Francisco Alvarez, Photo by Dan Fritz
Fangraphs has released their annual 114 prospect rankings, and this year, there are four New York Mets prospects ranked. Those prospects are Francisco Alvarez (7), Ronny Mauricio (44), Brett Baty (63), and Mark Vientos (64).
As noted by Fangraphs, their Future Value (FV) is of more importance than where they actually rank the players. Fangraphs has a long dissertation on the topic, but one of the quicker takeaways is a 60 FV player “he average 60 FV hitter on a list becomes a perennial 5-plus WAR player over his six controlled years 26% of the time, and has a 27% chance of accumulating, at most, a couple of WAR during his six controlled years.”
Francisco Alvarez, C
FV 60
ETA 2023
Alvarez was the second highest ranked catcher. He was also the top National League, Single-A, and international prospect. Overall, Fangraphs says Alvarez is “Built like an SEC fullback, the curvaceous Álvarez has explosive pull-side power and a good shot to stay behind the plate, which gives him a cathedral ceiling.”
Ronny Mauricio, SS
FV 50
ETA 2023
Mauricio was rated as the second best NL East shortstop prospect and the 11th best overall. As we have seen with the various scouting reports on Mauricio, it’s a mixed bag as the flashes he shows in all aspects of his game are negated by some significant holes he has not quite addressed. Overall, Fangraphs says Mauricio “is a high variance prospect with impressive tools who might never be more than a utilityman, but might also be a star.”
Brett Baty, 3B
FV 50
ETA 2023
Baty is somewhat similar to Mauricio in that the tools are there, but the refinement is holding him back. The big positive is he’s made the strides he needed to make to quite concerns he may need to move off of third. Conversely, he’s said to be a “physical beast with huge raw power, [but] Baty’s swing doesn’t enable him to get to it in games yet.”
Mark Vientos, 3B
FV 50
ETA 2022
Vientos is the Mets most Major League ready prospect, and he has the bat as a major reason why. Unlike Baty, he has not made the strides he needed to defensively signaling he is better suited to first or left. Overall, he “has huge raw power, but a see-ball, hit-ball approach prevents him from tapping into it, and his defensive ceiling is that of a below-average third baseman.”
Overall, the Mets have the best prospect in the National League. They also have two prospects in the top 50 when there are two other NL East teams without even one. They have more prospects in the top 64 than anyone else in the division. This is an indication of how strong the Mets systems is becoming, and it is also an indication of how the Mets may be good for years to come.
