Keith Law includes four Mets in top 100 minor league prospects

With ESPN's Keith Law's recent release of his annual rankings of farm systems in which the Mets placed 16th, baseball fans know the season is around the corner. Today, the season feels just a little closer as Law announced his list of top 100 minor league prospects at ESPN (Insider subscription required). His rankings feature four Mets prospects, headlined by Dominic Smith at 29th overall, whom he tabs as "one of the best pure hitters in the minors."

Law added that he believes Smith is a safe bet to be a .300 hitter with 20-homer upside with sparkling defense at first base. However, Law says his upside may only be reached if Smith "keeps his uniform buttons from bursting," as Law points out Smith could be skipping basic conditioning, resulting in sloppy defense in the Arizona Fall League. Smith was the 11th overall pick by the Mets in 2013. He is still just 20 years old.

After Smith comes a face Mets fans became familiar with last season—Steven Matz. The Long Island native ranks 37th overall on Law's list. Matz is still considered a prospect heading into 2016 because he kept his 2015 innings total under 50 due to injury. Law sees Matz as a "league-average starter who might show flashes above that but won't have the durability to profile as more than a mid-rotation guy." Much of Matz's potential rests on his ability to stay on the field since the lefty has never thrown more than 150 innings in a season.

Defensive-wiz shortstop Amed Rosario ranks 42nd overall on the list. Law is very high on Rosario and says, "he has the kind of raw tools and athleticism to be a top 10 prospect in the game in a year."

Rounding out the list for the Mets at 89th overall is former 2012 first-round pick Gavin Cecchini. Law projects Cecchini to be a "solid regular" with above-average defense at shortstop to go along with a .280/.350/.380 batting line. Law points out that Cecchini suffered from throwing troubles at the beginning of 2014 but the problem lessened later in the year.