Mets Minors: Who is the Ace?

Who amongst Met pitching prospects profiles as a future Ace?

At 23 years of age, Nolan McLean is currently the top pitcher in the New York Mets organization. Once considered a possibility as a DH/SP (like Shohei Ohtani) both his pitching and hitting production suffered from his split focus and this was abandoned. Presently in AAA, he is the only top pitching prospect (in recent memory) to reach the level without a significant level of collapse. Aside from one bad game, on May 15th, McLean has been consistent and steady in AAA completing 25.2 innings with 28 strikeouts, 8 walks and 5 earned runs over the 5 solid outings.

Brandon Sproat is now 24 years old and began the year as the Mets top pitching prospect but he has not looked like one since reaching AAA. His strikeout rate gives him a pedestrian K/9 of 6.5 and his walk rate BB/9 is over 4 for the year. He’s shown glimpses of what he could be but is struggling badly in Syracuse compared to his performance at AA. One has to wonder if the tale of Mike Vasil is ringing in the Mets’ ears with Sproat as their prospect struggles at AAA but could very well shine in the majors.

Meanwhile there is Jonah Tong, down in AA, Binghamton. The 21-year-old Canadian pitcher has been electric for the Rumble Ponies with a crisp 1.02 WHIP and 89 Ks in 49 innings. He does also walk too many batters. He has an unhealthy BB/9 of 4.9 which will be devastating if opponents ever learn how to get hits against him. Still, a 16.35 K/9 is something to salivate over and long for at the major league level.

The fact is that none of these pitchers may ultimately earn the title of “Ace” at the major league level but the troubling thing with each of them is their issuance of walks (Though McLean has the less damning evidence there). Jonah Tong’s peripherals give him the highest ceiling of the trio, but it seems that the test of AAA Syracuse is devastatingly hard. The safe money seems to fall on Nolan McLean but it’s difficult to say if the player I once pegged as a bullpen arm is good enough to sit at the head of a major league rotation.

AAA Syracuse Mets

Frankie Montas continues his rehab in AAA, and it is hard to be excited for his return. His performance in both Brooklyn and Syracuse has been decidedly hittable and I’m left with the impression that the Mets should not be in a rush to return him to the majors. It’s hard for me to look at Montas and say he’s better than anyone in the current Met rotation. Clay Holmes, Kodai Senga, David Peterson aren’t going anywhere, and Griffin Canning and Tylor Megill have looked good (particularly Canning last week). I don’t even think I’d unseat Paul Blackburn (recently returned as the 6th man) for the expensive free agent, Montas. Time will tell how the Mets see things.

Notes:

• Drew Gilbert, OF (24) - After a strong April Gilbert suffered a weak May that has continued into June. There is little offensive support (prospect wise) in AAA so maybe he improves with reinforcements.

• Blade Tidwell, RHP (23) - There was overall improvement for Tidwell in May, but he doesn’t look like a Top 20 prospect based on his 2025 performances.

• David Villar, 1B (28) - The former Giants prospect is now with the Mets trying to mount a comeback. He has power and can hit AAA pitching, but we’ll need to see if David Stearns has found a diamond here.

AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Zach Thornton is mounting a grassroots campaign up the rankings. I’ll readily admit, I didn’t have Thornton ranked in my Top 50 prospects before the season. The lefty starter is 23 years old was the Mets 5th round pick in 2023 and his numbers through 2024 left little to get watchers excited. 2025 has been a horse of a different color. He was brilliant in four starts for Brooklyn and has stayed successful with a shiny 0.71 WHIP since his promotion to AA. It’s hard to say where this mysterious pitcher belongs in the rankings coming up from outside the Top 50 but he’s on my radar.

Notes:

• Ryan Lambert, RHP (22) - One of the most polished relief prospects in the Mets system. He could be looking at a second promotion before the end of the year.

• Douglas Orellana, RHP (23) - A reliever who started in AA and likely has punched his ticket for AAA.

• Jack Wenninger, RHP (23) - His first start of June was a bad one but even there he managed to strike out 9.

• Ryan Clifford, 1B (21) - Clifford is being more selective at the plate and striking out less but his batting average has dipped. Increased walks and consistent power have kept his OPS in line.

• Jett Williams, SS (21) - He’s playing like a top prospect but it’s hard to rank him against other players also playing like top prospects.

• Nick Morabito, OF (22) - May was good for Morabito and June has stayed that way. He’s striking out more than I’d like but gets enough hits to make it work.

• Kevin Parada, C (23) - 6 games into the month of June and Parada is off to a hot start. He has to maintain this for a while to recapture any prospect luster.

A+ Brooklyn Cyclones

One thing you read a lot from me is how annoyed I get with the Mets and their promotions. Carson Benge is going to get that a lot from me because he’s been so dang great in Advanced A that he has nothing else to prove there. Benge had an OPS North of 1.000 in May, and he knows how to walk, doesn’t strike out too much and has shown both speed and power. It’s ironic how good the Brooklyn Cyclones record will be considering how few of the players who have made it that way will remain on this team for the playoffs. Benge belongs in AA yesterday, if not sooner.

Notes:

• Joel Diaz, RHP (21) - A very good April, a very bad May and (so far) a middling June.

• Nate Dohm, RHP (22) - After a bad first outing, Dohm has settled in and is looking like a front-end starter for the level.

• Jonathan Santucci, LHP (22) - The trajectory here is solid and one you want to see. Santucci has recovered from a rough April and started his June off well.

• Ronald Hernandez, C (21) - Hernandez is what he is (which isn’t bad). He looks like a very good bench catcher of the future.

• Chris Suero, C (21) - His .900+ OPS of April was an anomaly, but Suero’s offense has been pretty consistent otherwise and outside of Brooklyn might be even better.

• Jesus Baez, SS (20) - The shortstop prospect (who will likely transition to 2nd or 3rd) had a great May and finished with an OPS just shy of 1.000 for the month.

• Jacob Reimer, 3B (21) - Another slow starter for June. Reimer has been so good it’s confusing why he’s still in Advanced A.

• A.J. Ewing, Util (20) - June has not started that well for him but his numbers in May showed little decline after his promotion.

• Eli Serrano III, OF (21) - He has been a solid contributor for the Cyclones all season and seems steady and successful enough that a mid-season promotion is warranted.

A Port St. Lucie Mets

Guess who might have remembered he was supposed to be a Top Prospect. Colin Houck has emerged as a regular performer for the St. Lucie Mets thanks, largely to his consistent power performance. Houck strikes out more than once a game and he’s going to be a work in progress but an .800+ OPS is much more like it when it comes to offensive performance. If the Mets start promoting players from Advanced A it’ll be interesting to see what Brooklyn’s anti-power confines do to his production.

Notes:

• Jeremy Rodriguez, SS (18) - After a down month it has us worried it could be a down year.

• Daiverson Gutierrez, C (19) - Good enough month of May but he’s started June off well and fingers are crossed that continues.

R FCL Mets

It feels like there aren’t a plethora of positive profiles to focus on in the FCL but being that his first focus was after only one outing let’s return to talking about left-handed starter, Daviel Hurtado. One of the higher ranked former international signees, Hurtado has been an extremely bright spot for an overall poorly performing pitching staff. In 4 starts he has an ERA under 1.00, a WHIP under 1.00 and a K/9 over 10. All of this combined with a propensity to induce ground balls and there is a lot to like about this young player who should expect to be starting for Port St. Lucie soon.

• Julio Zayas, C (19) - I’d feel better about Zayas if his production numbers weren’t quite so closely tied to his walks.

• Edward Lantigua, OF (18) - He’s one of the better hitters on a team without much going for it.

R DSL Orange and Blue Mets

Most eyes are on Elian Pena, the Mets most recent top international signee. He hasn’t done anything of note in the early goings, but he only has 17 at bats to his name. Expect most of the news from the DSL to be focused on him for the foreseeable future. Yovanny Rodriguez was assigned to this level as well and there are a few names doing well but too few games have been played to make anything of this hard to read level.