Keith Law ranks Mets’ farm system 7th overall

ESPN.com’s Keith Law came out with his annual ranking of the game’s farm systems, and he ranks the Mets 7th in all of baseball, up from 16th in last year’s rankings. The Braves and the Yankees come in as the first and second best systems in baseball, respectively.

Although the Mets have graduated a slew of young fireball pitchers in recent years and traded several mid-level prospects at the past two trade deadlines, Law is bullish on their recent draft picks and last year’s late-season call-ups. He notes Robert Gsellman’s velocity spike has put him in conversation as a legitimate prospect and praised both 2016 first-round pick Justin Dunn and 2015 fifth-round pick Thomas Szapucki, who posted a 2.09 ERA between rookie and low-A ball last season.

Law also predicted solid returns from Luis Carpio, Wuilmer Becerra, and Anthony Kay—once they are each recovered from their respective injuries. Becerra in particular has emerged as legitimate talent. The so-called “lottery ticket” from the 2012 R.A. Dickey trade, the outfielder hit .312/.341/.393 in the pitcher-friendly High-A Florida State League last season.

The Yankees’ and Braves’ position at the top of the rankings represent the culmination of years of conscious rebuilding for both teams, and Law writes that both teams are set roll out top young talent at almost every position. The Phillies came in at #14, but Law was not nearly as kind to the rest of the NL East, ranking the Nationals and Marlins at #22 and #29, respectively.