As Minor League Baseball reaches its midseason point, three of the New York Mets top hitting prospects have impressed with the Brooklyn Cyclones so far. With their impressive play, Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, and Ronny Mauricio have soared up the rankings for Baseball Prospectus, ranking them at number No. 11, No. 16, and No. 40 […]
The post Francisco Álvarez and Brett Baty Land Inside BP’s Top 20 MLB Prospects first appeared on Metsmerized Online.
As Minor League Baseball reaches its midseason point, three of the New York Mets top hitting prospects have impressed with the Brooklyn Cyclones so far. With their impressive play, Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, and Ronny Mauricio have soared up the rankings for Baseball Prospectus, ranking them at number No. 11, No. 16, and No. 40 in their midseason prospect poll.
Alvarez finds himself nestled between Nolan Gorman (Cardinals) and Grayson Rodriguez (Orioles), two of the game’s brightest stars. It’s no surprise to find Alvarez this high on the list as he’s preyed on opposing pitching this year, slashing .303/.436/.561 with nine home runs between two levels of the minors.
Baseball Prospectus has been impressed with how well developed he seems to be, noting that Alvarez is only 19-years-old playing and playing at the High-A level.
In his final at-bat Álvarez crushes a base hit to left field for his first in High-A. Listen to the sound off the bat! @Mets_Minors #Brooklyn #Cyclones #Mets #MetsTwitter pic.twitter.com/bH615Sayyt
— Joseph Langan (@JosephLangan2) May 26, 2021
While the future seems bright for Francisco, Prospectus has questioned his position and noisy swing mechanics. When it comes to being a young teenage catching prospect, development demographics tend to skew on the opposing side. As for his swing, they recognize that it’s working so far but are concerned that it has too much “swing-and-miss potential”.
Alvarez’s swing may not be visually appealing, but it seems to be short and compact. With most of his power coming from his quick hands and rock-solid legs, Alvarez certainly has many of the tools that can’t be taught.
???? Francisco Álvarez
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???? Luke RitterThe @BKCyclones were hitting rockets yesterday. pic.twitter.com/LRQLLWxT2h
— Mets Farm Report (@MetsFarmReport) July 7, 2021
Teammate Brett Baty has been one of the bigger surprises for the Mets organization this season as he’s broken out in a big way. The 21-year-old finds himself between Noelvi Marte (Mariners) and Max Meyer (Marlins) on the Prospectus top 50 list. Before the season started, Baty only cracked one top 100 list (MLB Pipeline at No. 94), but finds himself getting the recognition he finally deserves this season.
Many were impressed with Baty’s work during the off-season, and Baseball Prospectus is no different. They love the way his swing plays to all fields while he built an incredible command of the strike zone. Baty provides a lot of back-spin off the bat and can put the barrel to the ball a good percentage of the time.
Through 50 games this season, Baty is slashing .305/.395/.508 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs, a stat line that has undoubtedly opened the eyes of scouts across the league. He jumped into a tougher level of competition at High-A and has quickly become one of the better players in the league.
HE DOES IT AGAIN! Baty continues to blast homers, another one to the opposite field. Here’s an on-field look of this kids incredible swing. @Mets_Minors @Metsmerized #Brooklyn #Cyclones #Mets #MetsTwitter pic.twitter.com/sHogKqVEmg
— Joseph Langan (@JosephLangan2) June 10, 2021
While Prospectus has some concerns about Baty’s swing and position status, the biggest problem may be his age. He is currently 21 going on 22 with only a year and a half of experience at the minor league level. The pandemic certainly didn’t help with Baty’s timetable, but being at the alternate site and learning from major league talent could have indeed led to his success this season. I can see Baty moving quickly after he gets promoted from Brooklyn due to the Mets’ lack of third base production.
Both Alvarez and Baty will play in the Futures Game on Sunday in Denver, Colorado.
While Mauricio may be struggling a bit this season in the average department, he has undoubtedly shown off his raw power potential; a trait Baseball Prospectus has taken notice of. The last time fans and scouts got to see Ronny was in 2019 where his tall, lean frame was underdeveloped. Ronny put on muscle with the pandemic lay-off and grew a bit more into his 6’3” size, allowing him to rope nine homers already. Ronny is snuggled between two top-catching prospects with some serious pop, Kiebert Ruiz (Dodgers) and Shea Langeliers (Braves).
Talk about a bomb! ???????? Ronny Mauricio deposits a ball over the center field wall for his FIFTH homer of the season. Boy did he need that one, he pads the Cyclones lead 6-3. @Mets_Minors @Metsmerized #Brooklyn #Cyclones #Mets #MetsTwitter pic.twitter.com/89l0TLfPTj
— Joseph Langan (@JosephLangan2) June 5, 2021
Mauricio has a very athletic frame and can hit from both sides of the plate, making him a valuable prospect for this Mets system. With that being said, Prospectus has pointed out Ronny’s lack of strike-zone awareness, something Mets Minors has highlighted before. He currently has too much swing-and-miss in his at-bats and has a hard time consistently finding the barrel. They’ve also called into question his future position with the New York Mets; Francisco Lindor poses a blockage for his future and would most likely have to adjust to another infield slot if he was to find himself in Queens.
Ronny is 20-years-old and still developing at a pretty high level of baseball for his age. With more at-bats and a refined approach at the dish, he could potentially boost his average and on-base percentage relatively quickly. Mauricio isn’t opposed to moving his position in order to increase his chances of making the Major Leagues, even dreaming about playing next to Lindor in Queens one day.
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