Mets prospect Luis Carpio out after having shoulder surgery

Prospect Luis Carpio had surgery on his throwing shoulder last week. Carpio felt some pain while playing over the winter and ended up needing the surgery. No timetable for his return has been given, only that he will be out "an extended period of time."

Carpio is a slick-fielding shortstop that was signed out of Venezuela in 2013. As a 17-year-old, he played Rookie ball for Kingsport in 2015. During the year, he split time between second base and shortstop, faring slightly better at second base. He owned a .980 fielding percentage at second and a .934 fielding percentage at short, though it's always worth noting that fielding percentage makes no effort to measure a player's range, which is typically the most important facet of a fielder's game.

Carpio also had a very good year at the plate, hitting .304/.372/.359 and stealing nine bases.

Baseball Prospectus had Carpio listed as the third-best prospect in the Mets' system. Here at Amazin Avenue, we had him listed as the number 6 prospect in the Mets' system for 2016. This ranking was based on not only the numbers he was putting up, especially at an incredibly young age, but also an impressive scouting report.

Amazin' Avenue's minor league editor Jeffrey Paternostro had this to say about Carpio's surgery:

This is a fairly significant setback for Carpio, our #6 prospect. While he is only 18 and 3-5 years away from a major league role, he likely would have been ticketed for an aggressive assignment in the South Atlantic League (High-A). Now, assuming he doesn't miss the entire season, he still won't be in games until the summer and the Mets will likely take it slow with his rehab. The best-case scenario has him getting to Low-A Brooklyn sometime this season.

This is mostly speculation without knowing the extent of the injury and the timetable for rehab, but the issue is in his throwing shoulder, and Carpio's arm is only average. This could also accelerate a move to the right side of the infield, which would put more pressure on his bat to develop. This doesn't really affect his long-term projection otherwise, but 2016 could have been a step onto the national prospect stage for Carpio if he performed well in full season ball.