SNY contributor Joe DeMayo answers fan questions in this edition of the Mets Minor League Mailbag...
Who could be the best player from the minors to make an impact this year? - @metluvr2001
For me the answer is RHP Brandon Sproat, who was my No. 2 ranked prospect in my most recent update from November. While I do believe there is a chance that my No. 1 prospect, INF/CF Jett Williams, could make his way to Queens this summer, there are more obstacles in his way. There are veteran presences at second and center, as well as young players who are either a little closer to big-league ready or have already made their debut, ahead of him on the depth chart.
As the Mets' second-round pick in the 2023 draft, Sproat took the minors by storm in his first professional season in 2024. He was virtually untouchable with High-A Brooklyn and was quickly promoted to Double-A Binghamton, often considered the biggest jump in the minors for both pitchers and hitters -- but Sproat didn't see it that way.
When I spoke with Sproat back in July and asked him the difference between High-A and Double-A, he said, “I really haven’t noticed too much of a difference. To me, it doesn’t matter where I’m at or who I’m facing, my plan of attack stays the same."
He faced his first bit of adversity at the Triple-A level, which Mets manager Carlos Mendoza astutely pointed out isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In seven starts with Triple-A Syracuse, Sproat posted a 7.53 ERA, particulary struggling with the home run ball (seven allowed in just 28.2 innings). He didn’t struggle too much with throwing strikes, but the next stage in his development is going to be not just throwing strikes, but throwing better strikes.
The now-consensus top 100 prospect in the game has a clear runway to making an impact on the Mets' rotation this season, potentially on a similar timeframe that Christian Scott had in 2024 if he could get off to a strong start with Triple-A Syracuse.
How highly do the Mets think of Boston Baro? It seems he had a very fast uprising last season. Could he be a guy who comes up next year based on the current trend? - @TheBavarianGuy7
The Mets think quite highly of Baro, who was an eighth-round pick in the 2023 draft. He's a prime candidate to make a jump in my prospect rankings that I'll be updating in the next month or so. When he was drafted and signed for $700,000 ($500,000 over slot for the eighth round), a priority was adding size to his lanky 170-pound build. He still can stand to physically mature more to impact the baseball, but his weight is more in the 185-190 range.
Baro put together a strong campaign with Low-A St. Lucie, where he slashed .288/.368/.399 in 84 games. Both his .288 average and .368 on-base percentage ranked second in the Florida State League among qualified hitters. What stood out offensively was his ability to put the bat on the ball (19.9 percent whiff rate) and avoid chasing (24.8 percent chase rate). He played second base, third base, and shortstop with plenty of arm strength to handle the left side of the infield.
The 20-year-old should start 2025 with High-A Brooklyn, and if he can improve upon what he acheieved in 2024, we could be talking about a sure-fire top 10 prospect in the system by the end this season. And to answer the latter part of the question, I wouldn't be projecting Baro with a potential MLB debut until 2027, most likely.
When you do your prospect lists do you rank them on current situation or on projections? - @bkfan09
I appreciate this question. My goal when compiling my top 30 lists is to make it a balance of floor and ceiling. In my years of covering prospects, I've seen far too many examples of young players with tools and potential that were never able to put them together on the field. While I certainly do my best to not rank purely on upside or potential, when prospects are close in my stack, I'll use who I think has a higher upside as a tiebreaker of sorts.
Floor may matter to me more than some other prospect rankers out there. Ultimately the goal for a farm system is to produce major league players. Of course, you want All-Stars and impactful players, too. But I think a good barometer to judge an amateur scouting process -- and a player development process -- is on how many big leaguers are produced. I don’t think it can be overstated how much work it takes and how difficult it is for players to just make it to that level.
My hope is when we look back at my lists in three or four years, the players I ranked highly are major-league contributors -- either as Mets or as trade chips that helped the club in a different way.