Top 25 Mets Prospects for 2019

We’ve officially wrapped up our countdown of our list of the Mets’ top twenty-five prospects going into the 2019 season. I hope you enjoyed it, and that it was as educational to everyone reading as it was enjoyable for me putting it together. I encourage everyone to use the comment section to submit questions about the state of the Mets’ farm system, our 2019 list, or our individual lists. We’ll do our best to answer everyone.

Here, then, is the full list, complete with links to each player’s write-up.

1. Peter Alonso (1B)

2. Andres Gimenez (SS)

3. Mark Vientos (3B)

4. David Peterson (LHP)

5. Ronny Mauricio (SS)

6. Shervyen Newton (SS)

7. Luis Guillorme (SS)

8. Thomas Szapucki (LHP)

9. Franklyn Kilomé (RHP)

10. Anthony Kay (LHP)

11. Ross Adolph (OF)

12. Simeon Woods-Richardson (RHP)

13. Luis Santana (2B)

14. Desmond Lindsay (OF)

15. Tony Dibrell (RHP)

16. Eric Hanhold (RHP)

17. Stephen Villines (RHP)

18. Adrian Hernandez (OF)

19. Stanley Consuegra (OF)

20. Jordan Humphreys (RHP)

21. Will Toffey (3B)

22. Daniel Zamora (LHP)

23. Bobby Wahl (RHP)

24. Ali Sanchez (C)

25. Francisco Alvarez (C)

Other Players of Note

As always, a special thanks goes out to Lukas Vlahos and Kenny Lavin- the Amazin’ Avenue minor league team- for their support in making this year’s list. Another special thanks goes out to our friends at Baseball Prospectus, Baseball America, Fangraphs, and the countless others who have contributed to our collective knowledge of the Mets’ farm system through first-hand information or secondary sources. Finally, one more thanks to the various photographers who have graciously allowed Amazin’ Avenue to use their shots over the years.

Last but certainly not least, the Amazin’ Avenue minor league team thanks our amazing community for their continued passion and enthusiasm. None of this would be possible—or needed—without your continued support.

Bonus Sleepers

These are players that did not make the Amazin’ Avenue Top 25 list, or even our own personal Top 25 lists, but are players we as individuals like, see something in going forward, or just think demand a little more respect.

Lukas

Hansel Moreno

Moreno is a real stretch in this spot, even as an ‘other of note’. He’s 22, just reached Single-A for the first time, and wasn’t particularly good there. Still, he’s now played all over the field, and there’s potential for above-average power, something he’s shown a bit already. There’s potential for a utility bench bat here, which is more than you can say for most 22-year-olds barely out of rookie ball.

Adonis Uceta

Last season was a big test year for Uceta, as he got his first real crack at the upper minors as a reliever. Unfortunately, he didn’t really excel, struggling with injuries and saw his walk rate regress in a big way. There’s still potential for an above average reliever here if he can rebound in the health department and if the control returns. Approaching 25, Uceta doesn’t have a ton of time left, but if things work out, he should move quickly through the high minors and see some major league action in 2019.

Matt Blackham

Blackham is another older reliever, and unlike Uceta, he doesn’t have a pass for being a recent convert. Still, anyone who has consistently posted K/9’s over 11 is interesting, and he continued to do that in 2018 at both Advanced-A and Double-A. Control is still a major problem, and until it improves, he most likely shouldn’t be called up, but he’s a half-grade of command away from a major league role.

Kenneth

Carlos Cortes

Carlos Cortes is fascinating to me. He’s truly ambidextrous, throwing with his left arm in the outfield and his right arm on the infield dirt. The Mets have tried to sign him as both a prep pick and as a college sophomore. They were finally able to sign him as a draft-eligible sophomore in the third round of the 2018 draft and offered him $1,038,000 to sign him away from his junior season at the University of South Carolina. Cortes is a below average defender both on the dirt and beyond it, so the bat is going to have to play to its potential for him to have any big league utility at all. As an amateur Cortes hit for more power than average, hitting .286/.368/.565 with 12 home runs in 168 at bats as a freshman, and .265/.385/.500 with 15 home runs in 230 at bats as a sophomore. After the draft, the Mets sent him to the New York Penn League where he was relatively old for the level, and Cortes did not really show all that much power, posting a .118 ISO in 202 PAs. Cortes generally held his own in his pro debut, hitting a slightly above league-average .264/.338/.382 116 wRC+ in 202 plate appearances. But, given the fact that he is slightly old for the level, both in terms of his age and his SEC pedigree, Cortes’ swing has a lot of moving parts, as his stance features both an exaggerated leg kick and a lot of hand movement, so I’m skeptical about how it will eventually fare against more advanced arms, but he has also shown some feel for the barrel. Cortes will probably start 2019 in the full-season South Atlantic League and could see himself earn a promotion to the Florida State League before the year is over if things go particularly well.

Joe Cavallaro

Joe Cavallaro is the type of pitcher that I definitely like more than I should. He’s a tall right-handed sidearmer who will probably have to move to the bullpen in the relatively near future. While he doesn’t project to be much more at the big league level than possibly a ROOGY middle reliever who struggles to get left-handed hitters out, I think his low arm slot slider gives him a half decent chance to be a pretty good one someday.

Chris Viall

Viall is a massive human being, and with that comes advantages as well as problems. His hulking 6’ 9” frame allows him to run his fastball into the 94-97 MPH with regularity, and occasionally touch higher. It also makes it extremely difficult for him to repeat his delivery regularly, which has led to legitimate command problems. Ultimately, given his command issues, lack of a third pitch, and health history, I think Viall would be best utilized as a power reliever. The combination of Viall’s power curve and fastball should be enough for him to get hitters out in tight spots, especially if the latter plays up at all in short bursts.

Steve

Bryce Hutchinson

Off-season surgery last winter threatened to turn the 2018 season into a complete wash for Hutchinson, but the big righty really threw himself into the rehab process and was able to get back on the field in July. In addition to possessing a solid pitching repertoire- a low-to-mid-90s with late running action, a sharp low-to-mid 80s slider with late drop that flashes above-average, and a developing high-70s to low-80s curveball and mid-80s changeup- Hutchinson is a solid hitter for a pitcher, generating above-average raw power from his big 6’6”, 245 lb. frame. The man that claims to be the best professional baseball Fortnite Player in the world brings a lot to the table and could theoretically lead the next wave of Mets pitching prospects in a few years.

Franklin Parra

Parra did not pitch professionally last season, but there’s a lot to like about the young left-hander. His fastball straddles 90 MPH and his body has room to fill in and add velocity. He shows the makings of a curveball and slider, and with some additional development should be able to throw either, or both. Perhaps most importantly, he’s a local kid, having moved from the Dominican Republic to Long Island and was rocking a Mets jersey under his gown when he graduated from Copiague High School this past June.

Jaylen Palmer

Palmer is another local kid, which gives him bonus points, but there’s plenty to like to begin with. The slim, athletic Palmer reminds me a lot of Hansel Moreno, which isn’t exactly an exciting comparison, but he also reminds me so much of Alfonso Soriano, and that’s a much more exciting one. Palmer’s swing has a smooth, easy flow to it, and thanks to some above-average bat speed, he can stay back on pitches until the last moment and has more power than you would think, whipping the bat through the zone. He has the tools to play anywhere in the infield right now, having good range and a strong accurate arm, but might grow off the position if he fills in and loses some of that quick twitch muscle. If he does, he’d fit in at any of the three outfield positions, though center would obviously be contingent on how much he fills in. There’s still plenty of time for him to develop as a ballplayer, so hopefully Palmer becomes more Soriano and less Moreno.

Juan Uriarte

After an excellent season with Kingsport in 2017, I was excited to see if Uriarte would be able to keep it up in Brooklyn, but an injury sustained from fouling a ball off his leg/shin/ankle in his very first at-bat of the 2018 season limited him to just a single plate appearance for the entire year. Because the injury was a freak accident, there is no reason to believe that Uriarte’s baseball skills have degraded. At the plate, he has a quick, compact swing, making him more of a gap-to-gap hitter at the present, but he projects to add a bit of power as he matures. Behind the plate, he is considered a plus defender, with a strong arm that can hit 85 MPH, solid footwork, and advanced blocking skills. Catchers are weird, but Uriarte has all the tools to gain prospect helium and stand out.