The Mets future at second base is Dilson Herrera who no longer has his prospect status and will spend most of the 2016 season at Triple-A barring an injury. Luis Carpio is listed in this group despite being listed as a shortstop by most because he has more career games at second base and is where he probably ends up long-term.

#5. Vinny Siena

Ht: 5’10” Wt: 190 Age: 12/24/1993 (22)

2015 Level: Brooklyn Cyclones/St. Lucie Mets

Stats: 72 G, 298 PA, 269 AB, 7 2B, 3B, 26/56 BB/K , 9 stolen bases, .268/.333/.301

The Mets selected Vinny in the 14th round of the 2015 draft out of Connecticut. During his final season at UCONN he hit .362/.424/.519 as a Junior, with 7 homers. He has above-average bat speed and is a good gap hitter,  also has a plus arm at second base.

He got off to a great start in his pro career with the Cyclones, hitting .352/.417/.380 with six stolen bases in 28 games. He hit safely in 24 of those games and reached base safely in 26 of them. Seems like he hit a wall posting an OPS of .599, .570, .516 in July, August, and September respectively. Siena was named to the New York-Penn League All-Star squad.  He is an MMN Breakout Candidate.

#4. T.J. Rivera

Ht: 6’1 Wt: 190 Age: 10/27/88 (27)

Stats: 110 G, 430 PA, 403 AB, 37 2B, 3B, 7 HR, 48 RBI, 19/47 (BB/K), .325/.364/.449

Infielders who hit like T.J. Rivera don’t come around very often. Since being signed by the Mets, Rivera has never batted under .289 in a single season and has inched through this system at a snail’s pace. At every level, he has played either middle infield or the hot corner and is capable of playing all four infield spots in a pinch.

However, a knock on him has been that he has been much older than most players at each level which skews his achievements. He also doesn’t have much power and won’t walk a ton either. A red flag was when he wasn’t taken in the 2015 Rule-5 Draft however, so there may be things we’re missing.

#3. L.J. Mazzilli

Ht: 6’1 Wt: 190 Level: St. Lucie (A), Binghamton (AA) Age: 9/6/1990 (25) Age Diff: -0.4

Acquired: Drafted in 2013 (4th Round)

2015 Stats: 91 G, 374 PA, 335 AB, 20 2B, 2 3B, HR, 25 RBI, 50 Runs, 35 BB/57 K, .261/.332/.342

Mazzilli followed up a great 2014 season with an underwhelming one that saw him suspended for the first 50 games of the 2015 season for a positive drug of abuse test. He showed power during batting practice but it failed to translate to in-game going the whole season without a homerun. He did show good strike-zone awareness while limiting his strikeouts.

He is also a very athletic player who improved his defense at second base last year where he played all but one game. Mazzilli does have some experience at third base (one game) and shortstop (14) in the minors. He will have to be more versatile to find playing time with the Mets upper level depth up the middle. Has average speed which would allow him to play some corner outfield if need be.

#2. Jeff McNeil

Ht: 6’1 Wt: 165 Level: St. Lucie/Binghamton B/T:L/R  Age: 4/8/1992 (23) Age Diff: -1.4

Acquired: Drafted in 2013 (12th round)

2015 Stats: 123 G, 545 PA, 483 AB, 18 2B, 6 3B, HR, 40 RBI, 80 Runs, 16 SB, .308/.369./.377

Jeff is coming off a strong year with the bat that helped him being named to the Florida State League midseason and post-season all-star teams. He led the league in hitting for a good chunk of the season and ended up with a .312/.373/.382 slash line for St. Lucie. As you can see he has limited power but gets on base and struck out only 61 times last season.

Big part of his value comes from the ability to play multiple positions pretty well defensively. Last season he played 34 at shortstop, 59 at second base, 28 at third base, two at first, one in center, and got some exposure to left field during the Arizona Fall League. He reminds me quite a bit of former Met Jeff Keppinger who went on to play nine seasons in the Majors. He is a little more athletic than Keppinger, he has stolen 44 bases in his first three pro seasons.

#1. Luis Carpio

Acquired: Signed in 2013 for $300k Bonus

Ht: 6’0 Wt: 165 Level: Kingsport Mets B/T: R/R Age: 7/11/1997 (18) Age Diff: -3.5

2015 Stats: 45 G, 207 PA, 181 AB, 10 2B, 22 RBI, 17 BB/34K, 9 SB, .304/.372/.359

The Mets decided to be aggressive with the young shortstop bringing him stateside to play for the Kingsport Mets this year. He made his pro debut during the 2014 with the Dominican Summer League Mets hitting just .234/.347./.301 while walking the same amount of times (33) as he struck out.

Has already shown a good knowledge of the strike zone while sticking with a line drive approach. Hasn’t shown any power yet but should once he grows into his solid frame. Also exhibits a high baseball IQ with good hands and a quick first step. Has the range to be able to handle shortstop, the lack of arm strength may necessitate him being a second baseman long-term. Above average speed coupled with good on-base skills profiles him as a top of the order bat.

Prior Top 5’s – Top 5 Catcher Prospects, Top 5 RHP, Top 5 Shortstops, Top 5 Outfielders, & Top 5 First Base, Top 5 LHP