The New York Mets have some very promising prospects in the system. Their system currently ranks in the top half of Major League Baseball, according to Baseball America, who rank them 12th. MLB Pipeline also ranks them as the 12th best system in baseball. Some of their top prospects could make an impact on the Major League roster as soon as this season. However, like with all prospects, there is a multitude of outcomes each could end up having. Some could be stars, like these three, while others, like these two Mets prospects, could still carve out a decent career but as more of a role player.
Jett Williams will be a big league stud
Jett Williams was one of two top prospects the Mets selected in the first round of the 2022 draft. Taken 14th overall, the young infielder was the 21st-best prospect in the draft per MLB Pipeline and the 15th-best by Baseball America. Williams got his first extended look against professional pitching in 2023, providing some excellent results.
In 534 plate appearances ranging from A-Ball St. Luice to Double-A Binghamton, Williams slashed .263/.425/.451. He provided some solid power with 13 home runs and a .188 isolated slugging percentage. His 22.1% K% wasn’t anything to write home about, but it wasn’t horrible. However, his 19.5% walk rate was something to write home about. It was the second highest among all minor league hitters with at least 500 PAs. Williams used his ability to get on base to its fullest advantage, swiping 45 bases in 52 attempts. Overall, Williams had a .414 wOBA and 145 wRC+.
Willilams then entered 2024 as a consensus top 50 prospect, but he couldn’t capitalize and build off of his strong 2023 campaign. He would only play in 33 games with 148 plate appearances, as he missed most of the season due to wrist injuries, including a debridement procedure on his right wrist. Wrist issues were evident based on his on-field performance as well. Williams produced just a .656 OPS, .322 wOBA, and 97 wRC+ in the limited sample size.
Williams is still a prospect with five-tool potential. Neither MLB Pipeline nor Baseball America projects any of his abilities below a 50 on the 20-80 scale. Even though he is of more diminutive stature, listed at 5’7”, 175 lbs, he projects to hit for average power. His fielding prowess is also above-average, and he has seen time at both middle infield positions and center field. He has more than enough speed to cover ground up the middle.
While Williams’ 2024 was mostly a lost season, he’s still heading into just this age-21 campaign. On top of that, he’s already reached Triple-A Syracuse but will start the season at Binghamton. Williams may not be a consensus top-50 prospect at the moment, but he did not fall far, and another strong season will propel him up prospect rankings, especially if he does so in the upper minor leagues. Given his talent, Williams could be a key piece of the Mets’ lineup for years to come in the very near future.
Brandon Sproat will be a big league stud
The Mets selected Brandon Sproat twice: once in 2022 in the third round, then again in the second round the following year. Sproat signed for slot value out of the University of Florida the second go around. Now, he’s entering the year as the Mets’ best pitching prospect.
Sproat worked his way up from High-A Brooklyn to Triple-A Syracuse, working to a 3.40 ERA, 3.96 FIP, and 1.11 WHIP across 116.1 innings of work. Sproat owned a 28.3% strikeout percentage while dishing out a free pass to 9.1% of opponents. He was also not extremely home run prone either, with a 1.08 HR/9 ratio and a ground ball rate approaching 50% at 49.8%.
Most of Sproat’s struggles came at Triple-A. Between High-A and Double-A, he owned a 2.05 ERA, 3.05 FIP, and 0.94 WHIP before he was sent to Syracuse. Granted, it was a small sample size, given he only tossed 28.2 innings, but after such a strong start to the season, he didn’t end 2024 how he would have liked to. But it was a small sample size of less than 30 innings. Sproat still displayed talent at Triple-A, as he was sitting 96-97 MPH with his four-seamer, topping out in the triple-digits. Despite elite velocity, his fastball was knocked around the park at Triple-A. He’ll have to incorporate his secondaries more frequently, but he has a good mix of them to work with.
The right-hander’s change-up is his best secondary offering, with both Pipeline and BA grading it out as a plus, 60-grade pitch. His low-to-mid-80s sweeper is another pitch that grades out as above average. He’ll also mix in a curveball and sinker as well. While he may have fringe-average control, his stuff is good enough to overcome a lack of elite location.
Sproat is heading into his age-24 season, and we could see him in the Major Leagues as soon as the first half of this year. The Mets definitely have some question marks in their rotation. Griffin Canning is far from a sure thing, and Frankie Montas will open the year on the IL. Even then, Montas has also struggled with underperformance and injury in 2023 and 2024. If Sproat gets off to a good start at Triple-A, and the Mets need another starter, look for Sproat to take over a rotation spot.
Carson Benge will be a big league stud
The Met’s first-round pick from last year, Carson Benge, was selected 19th overall out of Oklahoma State. During his final college season, Benge batted .335/.444/.665 with 18 home runs in 304 plate appearances. He drew a walk 16.1% of the time while striking out at a 16.9% rate. He entered the draft as one of the top 20 players available, by both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America.
After the Mets drafted the outfielder, he was sent to A-Ball St. Luice, where he made a good first impression. It was only a 69 plate appearance sample size, but he had 15 hits, including five extra-base hits (three doubles, two homers), drew 11 walks, and struck out only 14 times. He also went three-for-three in stolen base attempts. Benge’s whiff rate clocked in at just 17.4%, and he also had an above-average 88.4 MPH exit velocity.
Benge is a very well-rounded prospect. Only his power does not project as a 55 or better, per MLB Pipeline. But he displayed some raw power at A-Ball last season, and going to his pull side more could help him improve in this department. Pipeline also praises his bat-to-ball skills. As a runner, Benge is average to above average with enough range to potentially play center field. His arm can definitely play in any outfield spot. He also pitched 37 innings in college last year and could throw in the mid-90s.
The left-handed hitting outfielder will be 22 for the entirety of the 2025 season. Like Williams, Benge is another potential five-tool player at the top of the Mets’ prospect list. He definitely has the potential to shoot up prospect rankings if he can play a full minor league season this year while showing he can play well against professional-level competition.
Luisangel Acuna will be a good major leaguer but in a lesser role
One of the notable prospects the Mets acquired at the 2023 trade deadline was Luisangel Acuna from the Texas Rangers in the Max Scherzer trade. The younger brother of division rival and 2023 MVP Ronald Acuna Jr., Luisangel made his debut last season and made a great first impression. In 40 plate appearances, he had a dozen hits, half of which went for extra bases. This included three home runs, two doubles, and a triple. Acuna only drew a single walk but struck out just six times.
While Acuna did well in his first taste of big league action, note that it was still a small sample size. Acuna’s 2024 Triple-A season was not nearly as good. In 587 plate appearances, he turned in just a .259/.299/.355 triple-slash. His 16.4% K% and 22.3% whiff rate were both above average, but he walked in only 5.5% of his plate appearances. Acuna also only hit four homers with a .097 isolated slugging percentage, leading to a .295 wOBA and 69 wRC+. Acuna showed off his wheels, swiping 40 bases, marking the third season in a row he’s stolen at least 40 bags.
Acuna’s projections do not paint his offensive potential in a fantastic light. While both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline project his hit tool as average, he also projects for below-average pop. While Acuna may have had a strong 91 MPH exit velocity and 9.1% barrel percentage in his cup of coffee in the big leagues last season, he only had an 87.9 MPH EV and 3.3% barrel percentage at Syracuse last season.
But Acuna still has a lot going for him. He was in the 95th percentile of sprint speed last season at 29.5 feet/second, which was the 29th highest in MLB. Acuna projects as a plus glove, and he flashed that in the big leagues last season. He racked up +3 outs above average and put up a +9.3 UZR/150 in just 89 games at shortstop. BA grades his arm out at a 60 grade, so his arm is more than strong enough to play on the left side of the infield.
However, Acuna isn’t just limited to shortstop. He can also play second base and logged just over 250 innings in center field for Syracuse in 2024. He could also probably play third base and both outfield corners if the Mets asked him to. If Acuna’s speed and fielding play like they’re supposed to, he’ll at least carve himself out a career as a good utility man who can swipe bases.
Drew Gilbert will be a good major leaguer but in a lesser role
Another prospect the Mets acquired at the 2023 trade deadline was Drew Gilbert, whom they acquired from the Houston Astros for Justin Verlander. Gilbert came off a strong 2023 season, during which he owned a .868 OPS, .389 wOBA, and 133 wRC+ in 513 plate appearances for the Astros’ High-A and Double-A affiliates and the Mets’ Double-A Binghamton team. This strong season led to Gilbert being a consensus top-100 prospect heading into 2024.
However, 2024 was mostly forgettable for Gilbert. He missed a good chunk of the season with hamstring issues. When he was able to play, the production wasn’t nearly as good as the previous season. Gilbert batted .215/.313/.398 with a .319 wOBA and 85 wRC+ in just 247 plate appearances at Triple-A Syracuse. His exit velocity sat at just 85 MPH, while his barrel rate came in at a mediocre 4.3%.
While last season hurt Gilbert’s stock, there were still some positives. He hit ten homers and had a .178 ISO at Triple-A. His K% was also just 20.6%, and he drew walks at a 10.1% rate, which was about league average. These were also similar to his 2023 rates, as he struck out 18.9% of the time with a walk rate of 11.3%, albeit in a much larger sample size of 513 plate appearances.
Gilbert’s defense in the outfield is considered above-average by Baseball America, and he pairs that with a plus arm. That already gives him a high floor. Gilbert is also left-handed and hit right-handers much better than left-handers in 2024 (albeit in a small sample size.) He had a .758 OPS against opposite-handed pitching. At the very least, Gilbert could be a 4th outfielder or platoon player, even if his bat doesn’t come all the way around.
