Top 25 Mets Prospects for 2019: 5, Ronny Mauricio

5. Ronny Mauricio, SS

Height: 6’3”, Weight: 165 lbs.

DOB: 4/04/01 (17)

Acquired: IFA, July 2, 2017 (San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic)

Bats/Throws: S/R

2018:

49 G, 197 AB, .279/.307/.421, 55 H, 13 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 10 BB, 31 K, 1/7 SB, .310 BABIP (Rookie-GCL)

8 G, 30 AB, .233/.286/.333, 7 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 3 BB, 9 K, 1/1 SB, .304 BABIP (Rookie-APPY)

Considered one of the top rookies available during the 2017-2018 international signing period, the Mets and Dominican shortstop Ronny Mauricio agreed to a $2.1 million signing bonus for inking a deal with the organization, breaking the club record previously held by fellow Dominican shortstop Amed Rosario. The talented youngster made his professional debut in 2018, suiting up for the GCL Mets and getting into 49 games down in Florida, hitting .279/.307/.421. The 17-year-old was promoted to the Kingsport Mets to end the season and got into 8 games for them, hitting .233/.286/.333.

At the plate, Mauricio has a quick, whippy stroke that produces a smooth swing. It is more compact and contact-oriented from the left side, while he shows more power from the right side. Most of his at-bats are quality, with few swings-and-misses, thanks to an advanced eye at the plate and good bat-to-ball skills.

Defensively, he reads the ball well off the bat and shows good reaction times and instincts. He has soft hands, has a quick transfer, and possesses a plus arm. His footspeed is below average, but his range does not suffer much because of his quick reactions and instincts. There is concern that he might put on too much muscle as his body matures, forcing him off shortstop, but as long as he remains athletic and agile, he should be able to stick at short.

Steve Sypa says:

Ronny Mauricio has the projectability that you dream on, but it’s hard to make anything definitive of it right now. He’s got an excellent base of skills to work with and could be a superstar years from now. Or he might not ever figure out the breaking ball and stall out in Short-A. The reality is something between those two outcomes, but that leaves plenty of variance. Don’t expect Mauricio to arrive any time soon, but have fun following the journey.

Lukas Vlahos says:

It’s difficult for me to write anything about Mauricio. As someone who gets no in-person looks and relies almost totally on stats, Mauricio seems unremarkable. His composite stats are bad, he doesn’t hit for power, he doesn’t hit for average, and he doesn’t walk a ton. On the other hand, every scouting report cites Mauricio’s huge upside, with a body that could grow into the ideal shortstop form, and skills that could grow to plus almost across the board. The ceiling from that report is an elite, first division shortstop, and there’s no way to glean that out from 247 rookie league PAs as a 17-year-old. I’ll defer to the experts for now, and rank Mauricio as a high-risk, high-reward shortstop that could be Manny Machado or could flame out entirely.

Kenneth Lavin says:

A tall athletic shortstop with the kind of projectable frame that scouts rave about, Ronny Mauricio had a pretty smooth stateside debut in 2018. The Mets decided to put Mauricio on the same development track that they put Amed Rosario on several years ago, pushing him first to the Gulf Coast league, where he held his own as a 17-year-old and hit .279/.307/.421 in 202 PAs. He was even pushed to the Appalachian League to bolster Kingsport’s lineup for the playoffs. He struggled a bit after the promotion, but that was to be expected given the fact that he was one of the youngest players in the league, and has very little professional experience. While it’s relatively likely that Mauricio ends up moving off of shortstop as he gets older, all of the reports I’ve read suggest he’s been more or less fine at shortstop so far as a professional. For now, Mauricio’s projectable frame and athleticism give him as much upside as anyone else currently in the system. We’ll likely get more information on him next season, when he will hopefully be pushed to the full-season South Atlantic League as an 18-year-old.