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Five Mets Prospects Who Missed MMN’s Top 30, Part 2

By John Sheridan

March 29, 2023 No comments

MMN‘s Top 30 prospect rankings was a collaborative effort from the writers on the site. While Francisco Álvarez was the consensus top pick, there was debate on who should and should not be included in these rankings. There are also prospects outside the top 30 our staff wishes to highlight. As such, our staff has endeavored to name five additional prospects they believe merit recognition.

Wyatt Young, 2B/3B/SS

2022 Stats (Brooklyn, Binghamton, Syracuse): .270/.369/.383, 23 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 42 RBI, 7 SB, 3 CS

The biggest thing which stands out for Young is his work ethic. As his high school coach explained, he was a player who would get up at 4 AM to hit balls. While everyone was sleeping, he was working to get better. That led to him playing Division I baseball and getting drafted by the New York Mets.

A year after being drafted in the 15th round, he got an earlier than anticipated call to Triple-A where he had a 145 wRC+ over 19 games before being assigned to Double-A Binghamton where he had a 105 wRC+. Overall, we see Young is a contact oriented hitter who does not strike out often and still generates a good amount of walks. While still untapped, there may still yet be some power in that bat.

Defensively, he is smart but with limited range. He can handle short for now, but with his size, he is likely destined for second. For now, he will start the season with Binghamton, but with his progress he could force his way back to Syracuse during the season.

Omar De Los Santos, OF

2022 Stats (St. Lucie): .272/.339/.459, 23 2B, 5 3B, 16 HR, 62 RBI, 70 SB, 15 CS

You can teach a number of things to make people better baseball players. However, the one thing you cannot teach is speed, and De Los Santos has speed and then some. Better yet, he already knows how to steal a base recording 70 last year with an 82.4% success rate.

As we see with players like Terrance Gore and Tim Locastro, speed is enough to get you to the majors. However, De Los Santos is more than just speed. He has raw power and a very strong arm. Really, he has all the tools you are looking for in a player, but he still has work to do.

The swing is a bit long, and he strikes out too much. He is over aggressive at the plate not drawing many walks. He has mostly been facing younger competition, and sooner or later, the Mets need to push him to challenge him. That all said, we see what he can do, and if the Mets can refine some things, he could be poised for a breakout season.

D’Andre Smith, 2B

2022 Stats (FCL, St. Lucie): .220/.298/.440, 3 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, SB, CS

The Mets grabbed Smith in the fifth round of the 2022 draft, and they were able to entice him to forego his senior year at USC. In Smith, the Mets got an energetic player who has begun evolving as a player.

Smith was once known for his contact ability, but the approached sacrificed his natural power. With Smith already being selective at the plate with an excellent eye at the plate, the change in approach should go smoother than it would for most. To some degree, we saw some of the results with his having a .512 SLG with St. Lucie.

Smith is a smart baseball player with very good hands, and he is very aggressive in the field. While he has the range for short, he is better suited for second given his weaker arm. In fact, after the Mets drafted him, they played him exclusively at second. If his power continues to develop and his defense remains strong, he could be a fast riser in the system.

JT Schwartz, 1B

2022 Stats (Brooklyn): .273/.356/.400, 25 2B, 4 3B, 6 HR, 49 RBI, 3 SB, 3 CS

The Mets took Schwartz in the fourth round of the 2021 draft mostly due to his advanced approach at the plate. He works the count, and he does not strike out frequently. There was also hope that the 1.142 OPS he posted as a junior at UCLA was indicative of burgeoning power.

Well, so far in his brief professional career, the power has not come, and he had a 109 wRC+ with Brooklyn last season. At the moment, his approach seems more designed to win a batting title than be that power hitting first baseman most teams want. Truth be told, if he hits consistently, he has a future, but he will continue to be held back and overlooked until he develops at least some of the power teams want to see at first base.

Dangelo Sarmiento, SS

2022 Stats (DSL): .296/.373/.389, 5 2B, 3B, HR, 16 RBI, 9 SB, 3 CS

Sarmiento was signed as a 17 year old international free agent in January 2022, and he immediately became the Mets most exciting defensive shortstop prospect. He has the speed, range, and arm to make the difficult look routine and the impossible look possible.

At the plate, he has a contact oriented approach with patience at the plate. He has an advanced approach for his age, but he is not going to hit for much power. Of course, that power may come as he matures and grows stronger. Of course, as we have seen through Mets history with players like Rey Ordóñez and Luis Guillorme, you can be a good Major League player by having a great glove even if you can’t hit for power. For now, he is doing enough at the plate, and he is playing defense at another level.

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Written by John Sheridan

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