When it comes to the New York Mets, they have quite the history with Hawaiian born players. The 1986 Mets had Ron Darling and Sid Fernandez.
In the late 1990s, the Mets had Benny Agbayani. Agbayani was a fan favorite who was a late round pick most known for his walk-off homer in the 13th inning of Game 3 of the 2000 NLDS against the San Francisco Giants.
Perhaps, there is a chance prospect Wyatt Young could be the next notable Hawaiian born player for the Mets.
Wyatt, 23, was the Mets 2021 15th round pick out of Pepperdine University. As noted when he was drafted, the Mets organization was excited to draft him. After hearing his former high school coach, you can understand why.
Mark Simon of Sports Info Solutions spoke with well known and respected high school baseball coach Dunn Muramaru. Despite Hawaii not being seen as a hotbed for future Major Leaguers, as Simon notes, Muramaru has produced future Major Leaguers and Division I players like current New York Yankees shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
In a discussion about defense, Simon was asked about players we should know for the future. Muramaru named Young saying:
We’ve got one right now with the Mets in Triple-A. Wyatt Young. That guy has earned everything he’s ever gotten. If he makes it to the major leagues, he’d be one of the greatest stories.
Muramaru went on to describe Young’s work ethic saying, “Before they put in rules about this, he’d go and work out in our weight room with his dad at 4 AM while I was walking my dog. And he’d hit, and hit, and hit, and hit.”
The end result was Young playing baseball for Pepperdine. He went to the Cape Cod League as a fill-in, and he made the All-Star team. Now, he’s a Mets prospect despite being 5’9”.
We’ve seen him continue to put in the work in as a professional Muramaru praised when he was in high school. Young worked with Driveline to improve his bat speed, exit velocities, and launch angles.
The end result was an early, surprising, and well earned jump to Triple-A Syracuse last season. He largely succeeded with a 145 wRC+ over 19 games. After some struggles, he was sent to Double-Binghamton where he spent most of his season.
Overall last year, he hit .270/.369/.383 with 23 doubles, four triples, seven homers, and 42 RBI. He showed good bat-to-ball skills with a good walk rate.
Defensively, there’s debate on his ultimate position, with the Mets believing he’s more of a second baseman. He makes all the plays, but it’s a matter of just how much range he has.
Overall, with Young, we see a player with unique drive working to get absolutely everything out of his abilities. When given a chance, he’s surprised and impressed.
There’s a chance his hard work will be rewarded with a Major League promotion over the next couple of seasons. There’s a chance his great story continues.
