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Mets Top Prospects for 2022: No. 12 Simon Juan

By Doug M

March 4, 2022 No comments

12. Simon Juan, OF

B/T: R/R Age: 16
Ht: 6’2 Wt: 195 LBS
Acquired: International Free Agent, Dominican Republic, 2022 ($1.9 million bonus)
ETA: 2026  Previous Rank: N/A
Stats: N/A

After taking a year off from making any big ticket expenditures in the international free agent (IFA) market in 2021, the Mets landed a couple of seven-figure bonus talents when the bulk of their 2022 IFA class was announced back in January. Willy Fañas was ranked as MMN‘s 25th best prospect on the backs of his skills and reputation when the Mets gave him $1.5 million to sign.

The lead star of the class for now though is their top dollar signee and MLB Pipeline‘s 16th best international talent in the 2022 class, Dominican outfielder Simon Juan. When the Mets gave Juan $1.9 million to sign on, they made a strong statement about what they thought of the young man’s chances to one day become an impact major league baseball player.

Juan’s journey to that promised land is in it’s infancy, and without any statistical track record to parse just yet, what we know of the young teen is comprised of industry hearsay and limited scouting reports. But we can still note some things, including via some comparative video of his batting practice.

Here is Juan swinging the bat in what looks to be video taken from a couple of years back. Juan’s lower half is lean and projectable, and while he takes a whippy hack with strong wrists, there is some general stiffness and minimal weight shift or involvement of his lower half.

Fast forward to some recent batting practice of Juan in a Mets uniform down in their Dominican academy, and you notice significant changes already underway.

Juan is taking some free and easy swings here that look like he’s trying to drop the bat head and lift each pitch to the pull side. Notice how he has a larger stride back to create some momentum load on his back leg. His hands are active before firing, but he is utilizing the force in that back leg much better, bringing his hands through in a loopy arc.

In what is likely still just an early iteration of his finished swing profile, you can see Juan’s early penchant for generating bat speed and pull-side loft. Important variables to his overall profile as a hitter, including feel for the barrel and strike zone awareness, are hitherto a complete unknown on the public side.

But with Juan ready to play in professional games this summer, those mysteries will start to illuminate themselves. We’ll also get a better idea of Juan’s instincts in the outfield, where his early reputation as a plus runner gives him a chance to stay in center field long-term.

If the early reviews on these variables are generally positive, expect to see Juan climb even further up prospect rankings across the board.

Mets Top Prospects 29-30
Mets Top Prospects 27-28
Mets Top Prospects 25-26
Mets Top Prospects 23-24
Mets Top Prospects 21-22
Mets Top Prospects 20 Eric Orze
Mets Top Prospects 19 Hayden Senger
Mets Top Prospects 18 Jaylen Palmer
Mets Top Prospects 17 Adam Oller
Mets Top Prospects 16 Jake Mangum
Mets Top Prospects 15 Carlos Cortes
Mets Top Prospects 14 Joel Diaz
Mets Top Prospects 13 Calvin Ziegler

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Written by Doug M

My fate to bleed the blue and orange for life was laid out before me in 1997. My first Mets prospect I remember getting pumped up about was David Wright, as he just tore through the FSL and Eastern League with ease. Since then, my interest in minor league development has only grown. I hope to grow that interest further here at Mets Minors.

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