You may have seen or read the first part of this series showcasing the brightest young stars on teams across the league. For a team like the Mets, who have struggled this season, they are using the rest as a training camp for their young prospects. With mixed results, there are a lot of concerns and a lot of excitement building up about the Baby Mets. So what does BHS think about this new era of the Mets? Let’s find out!
Ronny Mauricio, UTIL
The Dominican utility man impressed in spring training this season while hitting 5 home runs in just 33 at bats. 6 months later, in early September, he got the call. In 17 games he has lived up to the hype, slashing .277/.329/.369 with an OPS just under .700. Besides for his impressive bat to ball numbers, his speed has impressed as well, 5 stolen bags in 5 attempts. His numbers look very good and how impressed are you with him so far?
James Mertz, a senior, is impressed with his performance. He said, “He has been playing very well, I am impressed. I hope they continue to play him alot next season.”
Mark Vientos, 3B
Mark Vientos, the offencive powerhouse with impressive bat to ball skills. Unfortunately in his 222 MLB at bats don’t show these skills. He has a cumulative .216 average with a below average .627 OPS, not great. But if you dive deeper into his numbers, he has picked up his production as of late, in his last 15 games he is batting .291 with 4 home runs (only hit 7 in his career). Coming down the stretch his impressive numbers as of late help to give fans some hope for him in the future.
Eva Neamonitis, a junior here at BHS, said “I have hope for him next year because of his recent games, but, if he doesn’t pick it up, we’re going to need to have a different conversation.”
Brett Baty, 3B
The Mets third baseman came up in late 2022 and quickly became a fan favorite despite his troubles with offensive consistency. Unfortunately, his troubles only increased in 2023 as his batting average dipped below .200, earning himself a demotion to Triple-A. Since being called back up in early September he has been more or less the same, occasional power, solid defense, but inconsistent results at the plate. Because of this many fans worry about how we will perform in the coming years. How do you feel about Baty going forward knowing that he has struggled to pick it up offensively?
English teacher, and advisor of The Eagles Cry, Mr. Malossi believes that he will be good. He said, “You cannot go by the rookie year performance, because players take time to develop. Baty looks like he has a lot of pop and he can play the position. I say we have to develop our youth if we are ever going to win ever.”
Francisco Alvarez, C
The Mets former #1 overall prospect got the call late in the 2022 season, but appeared in just 12 games. In 2023 he became the Mets starting catcher, but, like many other Mets prospects, his power has shown up as he mashed 23 home runs, but his consistency has been disappointing, posting a batting average below .230. Overall his below average stats lead many fans to worry about his production in the coming years.
Mr. Malossi said, “I was excited for him to break Johnny Bench’s rookie home run record. But, I didn’t love his high strikeout rate and low consistency. I hope he can turn that around going into next season.”
Conclusion
Similarly to any team with a group of young kids coming up, Mets fans put a lot of pressure on them to do well. Because of this many become stars but some quite the opposite. But besides these ups and downs, the glimpses of these prospects have looked good enough to say that the New York Metropolitans have got a good future ahead of them.
