Mark Vientos, Photo by Ed Delany of MMO
The New York Mets and all of their full-season affiliates will all be playing baseball this week.
The Mets are prepared for an exciting season with offseason additions like Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, and Chris Bassitt hopefully making this a World Series caliber team. At the minor league level, there are also exciting story lines and things to follow this season.
Opening Day: April 5, 2022
NBT Bank Stadium
vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders
The Syracuse Mets have one of the most major-league-ready Triple-A rosters the Mets have had in quite some time. Really, from a pitching and outfield perspective, this is a very stacked roster.
The starting rotation should feature Tylor Megill, David Peterson, and Jose Butto. Megill burst onto the scene last year with a 2.04 ERA over his first seven MLB starts, and he closed out the season picking up a win with five shutout innings against the eventual World Series champion Atlanta Braves.
Behind him is Peterson who had a strong 2020 rookie season posting a 125 ERA+. Butto was added to the 40-man roster after he notched 10.0 K/9 as a starter between Brooklyn and Binghamton.
The outfield will be very good with Khalil Lee and Nick Plummer. Both players had extraordinary seasons at the plate in Triple-A last year. Lee had a 162 wRC+ with Syracuse, and Plummer posted a 153 wRC+ in the Cardinals organization.
Despite all that star power, the biggest name is Mark Vientos. Vientos is the Mets top major-league-ready offensive prospect. In his brief time with Syracuse last season, he excelled with a 159 wRC+. Overall, we know he can hit, but the biggest story line to follow this season will be his ability to get up to speed at third base.
Opening Day: April 8, 2022
Dunkin Donuts Park
at Hartford Yard Goats
If you want to get excited about the future of the Mets, this is the affiliate you need to be following closely at the start of the season. Binghamton promises to feature MMN‘s top three prospects in C Francisco Álvarez, 3B Brett Baty, and SS Ronny Mauricio.
Buck Showalter himself was excited about what he saw with Álvarez noting he loves his offense and his energy. While Álvarez has made significant strides defensively, Showalter and the Mets want to see more. If Álvarez continues making those improvements, he will be up sooner than we all expect.
Baty and Mauricio have all the potential in the world at the plate, but they still have work to do. Baty needs to significantly improve his ground ball rate, and Mauricio needs to develop plate discipline. Both players had a stint with Binghamton at the end of last season, and they performed well. Hopefully, they will take the next step this year and see their high stocks rise even higher.
Wilmer Reyes (Jacob Resnick/Mets Minors)
Opening Day: April 8, 2022
Frawley Stadium
at Wilmington Blue Rocks
With Jaylen Palmer and Wilmer Reyes, the Cyclones have the two Mets prospects best poised to have breakout seasons. As we have seen this spring, both are poised to do it.
Palmer was MMN‘s 18th ranked prospect, and it still mostly based on his athleticism and projectability. However, we saw him begin to harness it last year, and his plate recognition took a big step forward last season. He posts big exit velocities, and he is among the most athletic players in all of the Mets system. Playing close to home, this can be a big year for him.
Reyes has battled injuries the last few years, but those appear to be behind him. He posted big numbers in his limited 16 games last season, and he has looked strong this spring. With some health luck, we can see him post big numbers at the plate and get back on track to being regarded as one of the Mets better prospects.
Opening Day: April 8, 2022
Jackie Robinson Ballpark
at Daytona Tortugas
As reported by MMN‘s Michael Mayer, St. Lucie will feature the Mets two most exciting outfield prospects in Alex Ramirez and Stanley Consuegra. Mayer also reported the bulk of the Mets 2021 draft will be assigned to St. Lucie.
Ramirez was a surprise name in Keith Law’s Top 100 prospects over at The Athletic. Despite being just 19 years old, Ramirez more than held his own offensively, and he is well advanced for his age and level defensively. In very short order, Ramirez can be viewed at the top prospect in the Mets system and in all of baseball.
Consuegra saw his star diminish a bit with some injuries. However, he has been healthy this Spring, and he has been mashing. With some health and if that health carries forward into the season, Consuegra will again be viewed as a Mets top prospect.
From the 2021 draft, we will see Calvin Ziegler (second round), Dominic Hamel (third round), Christian Scott (fifth round), Mike Vasil (eighth round), and Levi David (9th round). The most anticipated of this group is Ziegler who might’ve been the steal in the second round and who has come to spring training looking like he’s ready to put together a big season.
Overall, the Mets have many prospects poised to have big seasons, and they have a number of players to keep a close eye on throughout the season. While we hope the Mets will win the World Series in 2022, we also hope to see the Mets prospects have the types of seasons which will give us hope that winning will be sustained for years to come.
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