Mets Midseason Top 10 Prospects, #1: Michael Conforto

Preseason AA ranking: 7

2015 stats (aggregate) :.302/.375/.493; 9.6% walk rate; 15.6% strikeout rate

Season to date

The Mets were conservative with Michael Conforto after he signed last season and the trend continued out of spring training this season when they assigned him to High-A St. Lucie. He quickly showed he was too good for the level, batting .313/.396/.566 in April, and despite a slow May Conforto was promoted to Binghamton where he hit .340/.411/.540 in June. He hits better against righties, which is to be expected as a left-handed batter, but he hasn't struggled versus lefties, hitting .252/.342/.417 on the season.

Why he ranks here

Conforto ranks number one because he combines a high ceiling with current major league readiness. There's very little projection in his profile; he's going to be a major leaguer and he's going to hit very soon. There's no one in the system who takes a better at-bat than Conforto, and you could probably apply that to more than a couple of guys on 25-man roster as well. Conforto has the potential for plus power and could top out as a .400 on-base, 20 homer player at his peak, according to Keith Law. Defensively he is a limited to left due to an average--but accurate--arm, and scouts who have seen him say he will be average there. This all adds up to a player who has a good shot at being an above-average major leaguer with a likely floor of an average one.

Jeff wrote up Conforto in June of this year:

"...[Conforto] is closer to major league ready than any bat in the system, and I don't see a huge test for the offensive projection until he reaches the majors. So the only question here is: How soon will that be? I'd personally keep him in Binghamton for a bit to make some of the adjustments against off-speed pitches I mentioned, but if Michael Cuddyer or Curtis Granderson goes down with an injury, I'd be hard-pressed to argue that Conforto isn't the best everyday outfield option." - Jeff Paternostro