What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
If the Mets want to contend in 2027 they have to go after Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal (NY Post)
The Mets are interested in Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato (NY Post)
Prospect Sammy Stafura is one of the more intriguing prospects in the Mets system now with his hit tool but he needs to cut down on his strikeouts (SNY)
Prospects Billy Amick and Jefferson Rojas have been impressive since they were acquired at the trade deadline (Daily News)
The Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
ICYMI: On the latest edition of the Just Mets Podcast, Rich is joined by SNY’s Joe DeMayo to discuss the new influx of talent into the Mets farm system from the Trade Deadline.
SUBSCRIBE: YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Spotify
Down on the Farm 🌾
3B Jacob Reimer (No. 7 prospect, Double-A): 2-for-4, R, HR, 3 RBIs
SS Antonio Jimenez (High-A): 2-for-3, 2 R, 3B, RBI, BB, K
SS Elian Peña (No. 3 prospect, Single-A): 2-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K
BOX SCORES
Single-A SLU | High-A BRK | Double-A BNG | Triple-A SYR (SSPD)
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (53-69) vs. Nationals (60-63)
Where: Citi Field - Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Robert Stock (0-2, 10.13 ERA) vs. LHP Andrew Alvarez (2-3, 3.76 ERA)
When: 7:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: WPIX
New rankings among new prospects, and new trade chips as well for the Mets ✍️
MLB Pipeline released their new prospect rankings, and the Mets have a new number one prospect in their organization. The newly acquired Jefferson Rojas, who came over from the Cubs for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor, now sits atop the list and is the only prospect who made the Top 100 prospects in all of baseball.
It was imperative for David Stearns to add to the farm system at the deadline, given the state of the roster and organization as a whole at that moment. It was especially important to get a top 100 prospect, and he did that with Rojas. It would’ve been nice to get two, especially since they gave up two to get Freddy Peralta earlier this year, but generally speaking Stearns did well from a prospect gathering perspective. It gave the club not only a retooling of the system of sorts, but inventory to trade from in the coming winter as well.
Having a weak farm system at the deadline was not necessarily an organizational failing, although there has been some significant regression among many of their prospects organization-wide in 2026, that which has been concerning even for team owner and CEO Steve Cohen. But there has also been natural progression by the graduation of top prospects Nolan McLean, A.J. Ewing, and Carson Benge.
In the end, that’s the point - to not only bring their best prospects to the major leagues but for them to also continue to grow, develop, and perform here as well.
Heading into the season, the team’s top 10 prospects were:
OF Carson Benge
RHP Jonah Tong
OF A.J. Ewing
1B/OF Ryan Clifford
3B/1B Jacob Reimer
RHP Jack Wenninger
2B/SS Mitch Voit
SS Elian Peña
LHP Jonathan Santucci
RHP Will Watson
The updated top 10 is:
3B/SS Jefferson Rojas
LHP Jonathan Santucci
SS Elian Peña
2B/SS Mitch Voit
RHP Jonah Tong
SS Wandy Asigen
3B Jacob Reimer
LHP Zac Thornton
2B/SS Sammy Stafura
RHP Jack Wenninger
The biggest winners of the new rankings are Santucci, Peña, Voit, Asigen, and Thornton. Thornton is now a part of the rotation and has so far looked like a major leaguer ever since his call-up. Voit has been unstoppable ever since being called up to Double-A. In 13 games, he is hitting .480/.567/.740/1.307 for Binghamton. Wandy Asigen moved up from number 11 to number 6 with a solid season in rookie ball, and Santucci jumped from 9 to 2. Having prospects make leaps during the season is expected, but it is also a positive sign that they are able to develop prospects who can thrive over the course of a season. Also, the additions of Rojas and Sammy Stafura have the potential to make a positive impact on the organization.
However, it isn’t all good news.
In the beginning of the season, Jonah Tong was thought to be on the verge of competing for a spot in the rotation, but he has taken a significant step backwards to the point where Thornton is now in the majors, and he is not. The team is even sticking with Robert Stock in the rotation instead of calling Tong up, which is very telling of what they think of Tong’s progression this year.
With Syracuse, Tong is 3-6 with a 5.32 ERA. He did make a few appearances in the majors this season and was decent, going 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA over ten innings, but obviously not good enough - or the club saw things which needed work - to stick in the big leagues and in a rotation which - at that time anyway - was badly in need of skill. The potential is still there with the young righty, and perhaps he gets another call-up towards the end of the season so the team can get another glimpse of what he could offer next year.
The other disappointment this season was Ryan Clifford. He slid from fourth all the way down to 16th. Yes, some of the new additions are ahead of him in the rankings, but that still does not account entirely for his slide down the rankings. He’s had an awful year in Triple-A, hitting just .182/.275/.358 with 16 home runs and 51 RBIs, and his OPS is just .633. After letting Pete Alonso walk and Jorge Polanco not be the answer at first base, the answer is clearly not coming from within with Clifford, who was acquired in the trade that sent Justin Verlander to the Astros at the trade deadline in 2023, which is a disappointment for the organization.
The Mets’ first wave of prospects have been holding their own at the major league level, and the hope is that the next wave can do the same, whether that is in 2027 or beyond. They’ve done a good job over the last year especially graduating quality starting pitchers to the major leagues, but it’s imperative the Mets begin to graduate such position players as well. Yes, Benge and Ewing specifically have been outstanding and that’s a good start, but that’s really the first time they’ve done it that well since they brought Alonso to the big leagues in 2019.
This new influx of talent offers them more opportunities to do that now, but also give them more opportunities in the trade market to do that with established players as later.
Around the League 🚩
The Twins and Phillies faced off in the Field of Dreams game played in Iowa with the Phillies coming out on top (MLB.com)
Rangers RHP Jacob deGrom exited his start against the Angels early with right triceps fatigue (MLB.com)
Nationals RHP Cade Cavalli took a no-hitter into the seventh inning in Washington’s 7-0 win over the Cubs (ESPN)
The Mariners ended their six-game losing streak with a 1-0 win against the Yankees (MLB.com)
Reds RHP Hunter Greene will likely miss all of 2027 after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery (ESPN)
You provide a very rosy description of Stearns's trade deadline deals, as if he was compelled to trade the under-team-control Weaver and Brazoban, which he was not. The pitching staff is now among the very weakest in MLB, the bullpen in particular consisting of minor leaguers, has beens, and never weres. Go down the list, if you please. Best thing that can happen to the Mets this winter is for Stearns to get canned. Decision after decision after decision has turned out badly. The tastiest one of all is Polanco, who they continue to trot out day after day in order to spare Stearns the embarrassment of paying him 20M to sit.