This quintet includes players going in different directions, as far as our rankings go, from one season ago. But growth for prospects, just like in life, isn’t always linear, so there is no reason to give up on any of these youngsters. One player, just drafted out of high school, is set to begin his professional baseball journey that will hopefully end in the big leagues.

Check out our honorable mention group of nine we previously posted.

30 – RHP Brendan Girton

B/T: R/R Age: 24 Ht: 6-1 Wt: 217 Acquired: 2024 draft, 10th round, University of Oklahoma

2025 Stats: 3-4, 3.10 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 101 strikeouts, 40 walks, 87 innings pitched, 21 starts, 25 games

Girton, who struck out 27.7 percent of the batters he faced (76 1/3 innings at High-A Brooklyn, 10 2/3 innings at Double-A Binghamton), told Mark Healey of Gotham Baseball last June that he was a fastball-dominant pitcher in college with shaky breaking pitches. But since joining the Mets organization he has improved his slider and wants to add a splitter and sinker.

“The Mets are awesome as far as developing pitches,” Girton told Healey. “I’m in the process of developing two more pitches, and they’re going to be good whenever I can get confidence to use them in-game.”

In his best performance of the season, he threw five perfect innings with six strikeouts on June 14 for Brooklyn and earned the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week honor.

“I feel like the delivery has a ton of deception,” Brooklyn manager Gilbert Gómez told Healey. “I think the slider has a ton of movement. And I just feel like the way he throws the ball, it’s an aggressive delivery going at you, which I think, you pair that with the movement that he creates, and he’s gonna induce a lot of swing and miss.”

29 – OF Edward Lantigua

B/T: R/R Age: 19 Ht: 6-1 Wt: 174 Acquired: Signed in 2024 for $950,000 from the Dominican Republic

2025 Stats: .288/.433/.399, three HR, 13 SB, 194 plate appearances

Lantigua has shown an elite eye in his two years in the organization, walking 54 times in 383 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League (2024) and the Rookie Ball Florida Complex League (2025). He had more walks (33) than strikeouts (29) in 2025 and his on-base percentage was tops in the organization.

He made 40 of his 49 starts in center field last season, but is expected to move to a corner as he adds bulk to his frame. He is also expected to develop into a slugger. Hopefully, he can also develop better base-stealing skills. While he stole 13, he was caught 10 times.

The only player who the Mets signed for more money in his international class was catcher Yovanny Rodriguez ($2.85 million). MLB Pipeline ranked Lantigua the No. 42 prospect of that class.

28 – RHP Camden Lohman

B/T: R/R Age: 19 Ht: 6-4 Wt: 195 Acquired: 2025 draft eighth round, Fort Zumwalt North (Missouri) HS

Lohman went 5-1 with a 0.80 ERA in 44 innings pitched in his senior year of high school, striking out 92 and walking 15. He threw a fastball in the 92-96 mph range and a slider and splitter in the 80-84 mph range, his coach, Steve Siebert, told Warren Mayes of Mid Rivers Newsmagazine in August.

“He has the ideal build for a pitcher – tall, with a long reach – and his command and poise on the mound took a big step forward this past season,” Seibert said.

He hasn’t thrown a professional pitch since signing with the Mets for $797,500, well above the $213,200 slot value. He passed on playing for the University of Missouri to sign with New York.

27 – RHP Noah Hall

B/T: R/R Age: 24 Ht: 6-0 Wt: 195 Acquired: 2023 draft seventh round, University of South Carolina

2025 Stats: 5-7, 2.72 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 115 strikeouts, 63 walks, 112 2/3 innings pitched, 21 starts, 25 games

Hall was healthy and effective for Brooklyn in 2025 after battling injuries in the prior two seasons. A shoulder injury limited him to five starts and 13 innings pitched in 2024 and he made only seven starts in his senior season at the University of South Carolina before being sidelined with a back injury.

“Getting healthy – that was just the main thing,” he told our own Joseph Hill of MetsMinors.net last May. “I always knew I had the ability to go out there and pitch, and do good and compete and just give, good quality starts. I was dealing with injuries, and I needed to figure out what in the weight room works best for my body, where I need to be at, physically, while I’m in shape, and making sure that my mobility and flexibility is good so I don’t be having those nagging injuries anymore.”

Hall’s change-up is his best pitch, according to a Baseball America scouting report. “It’s a 70-grade pitch with extremely high spin rates and a tremendous amount of arm-side fading action and drop.” His fastball sits 91-95 mph and he also throws a mid-80s slider.

26 – 3B-SS-2B Boston Baro

B/T: L/R Age: 21 Ht: 6-0 Wt: 170 Acquired: 2023 draft eighth round, Capistrano Valley (California) HS

2025 Stats: .224/.282/.321, four HR, 28 SB, 433 plate appearances

Baro was at No. 13 on MMO’s preseason prospect list a year ago after impressing at Low-A St. Lucie in 2024, but after his slash line dipped across the board at Brooklyn, he fell down the rankings. Part of his disappointing 2025 can be attributed to nagging injuries, and Brooklyn is a tough place for left-handed hitters. He did steal 28 bases and was caught only two times.

Still, at 21, the potential remains. The Mets saw something when they signed him for $700,000, well above his slot value of $192,900. A scout once compared him to Jeff McNeil for his bat control and defensive versatility. He made 41 starts at shortstop, 31 at third and 18 at second for the Cyclones last season. His season ended in August after 103 games due to injury.

A scouting report on Baseball Savant before last season called his left-handed swing “loose and easy” and some scouts believed he could be a late bloomer as far as hitting for power. Baro has eight home runs in 876 career minor league plate appearances.