2025 MLB Farm Review: New York Mets

The top prospects who played in St. Lucie this season didn’t stick at the level long.

Marco Vargas, acquired in the David Robertson trade three years ago, posted a 1.072 OPS in 13 games before he moved to Brooklyn. Infielder/outfielder A.J. Ewing – who we will mention more later on – stole 14 bases and posted a 1.121 OPS in 18 contests. Both moved to High-A in short order.

However, other familiar names received a lot of playing time in Florida.

Simon Juan, the outfielder who received $1.9MM in 2022, did not produce good numbers in Low-A. Juan slashed .222/.290/.340 (.630 OPS) over 98 games. A lot of swings outside the zone, as Juan posted a Chase% above 42%, and a high Whiff% of 36.6%.

Colin Houck, meanwhile, made it out of Low-A after the 21-year-old posted a .610 OPS. The infielder picked up 27 extra-base hits, eight of which were home runs, in 62 contest with St. Lucie, along with a Barrel% just under 10%. It was a good step forward for Houck, although there were holes that showed up more in High-A. He posted a sub-20% Whiff% on four-seamers but an overall Whiff% above 31% – I think you can figure out the rest.

Mitch Voit, who starred at Michigan before becoming an unlikely first-round pick in July, slashed .235/.345/.294 with 24 strikeouts over 22 contests. Voit, in the small sample size, had problems catching up to fastballs. The infielder posted a Whiff% just above 30% on four-seam fastballs.

As for the pitching staff, many of the top performers from last year’s St. Lucie team are not in the organization anymore. Wellington Aracena was a strikeout machine and routinely hit triple-digits. Aracena was traded for a reliever in July 2025. Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt, meanwhile, were sent to St. Louis in July.

The lone true standout from 2025 still in the organization is Will Watson. Watson, who walked 21 over 39.1 IP with St. Lucie but has some of the best stuff in the organization, struck out 43 and posted a 30.7% Whiff%.

Brooklyn Cyclones

No shortage of talent went through Coney Island this past season. Brooklyn’s roster was loaded for much of the first half of 2025, as Carson Benge, Jacob Reimer, A.J. Ewing, and Chris Suero all made waves to force their way out of the city and to upstate New York.

We’ll start with Benge, the Mets’ 2024 first-round pick, and arguably, the best position player prospect in the system. Benge had a loud 60-game sample size, as the former OK State star slashed .302/.417/.480 with 15 stolen bases and 27 extra-base hits. He only had four home runs, although Benge hit for more pop in Double-A (Brooklyn’s home ballpark is notorious for stifling left-handed hitters).

Benge had a sub-20% Whiff%, showcasing his ability to make consistent contact, as well. And, he wasn’t the only one to do that, either. Jacob Reimer (22.4% Whiff%) and A.J. Ewing (22.9%) were also fairly reliable in that regard.

Reimer, who missed most of 2024, had 30 extra-base hits over 61 games.  Ewing, meanwhile, slashed .288/.387/.388 with 44 stolen bases in 78 contests. The 21-year-old Ewing showed an innate ability to grind out at-bats, fouling off pitches, while also not expanding too much (something he did very well in Low-A). 

Chris Suero, a power-hitting catcher who also saw time in the outfield, led the Cyclones with 13 home runs, along with 25 stolen bases over 74 contests. However, more swing-and-miss (32.7% Whiff%) compared to the names mentioned previously.

Boston Baro had one of the highest fly-ball rates in the South Atlantic League but had little to show for it. Baro had just 25 extra-base hits over 103 games.

Lastly, Colin Houck’s numbers took a strong dip after his promotion from Florida. Houck slashed .198/.269/.289 over 54 games. But more concerning, 78 strikeouts and a swing-and-miss rate of 39.2%.

As for the pitching staff, the Cyclones rolled out one of the better pitching staffs in the Minors, thanks to the trio ot Jonathan Santucci, R.J. Gordon, and Will Watson.

Santucci, a second-round pick from 2024, was one of the better groundball pitchers in the SAL and had a swing-and-miss rate just under 32%. Watson and Gordon, both deceptive righties, didn’t have as high a Whiff% rate as Santucci. However, both averaged more than a strikeout per inning.

Their bullpen was also rather loaded this season, as Anthony Nunez, Chandler Marsh, and Dylan Ross were among the notable relievers to pitch for the Cyclones. Ross, who struck out 23 over 11.2 IP, used High-A as a stepping stone en route to his first MLB callup in September. Nunez and Marsh, meanwhile, are now in the Orioles organization.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies

We’ll start with Ryan Clifford, who had a fantastic overall season with Double-A Binghamton. Clifford hit a team-high 24 home runs, racked up 43 extra-base hits, and walked 63 times over 105 games for the Rumble Ponies.

The first baseman has shown himself to be a patient hitter, trying to work counts and take as many pitches as possible. Clifford had one of the higher take rates in the Eastern League last season and wasn’t punished for it too much. He also didn’t swing-and-miss much (27.4% Whiff%), a positive sign as Clifford looks to work his way into the Mets’ future plans at first base.

Clifford was one of several notable prospects on the Rumble Ponies last season. Nick Morabito and Jett Williams joined him for much of 2025. Morabito (22.8% Whiff%) stole 49 bases and picked up 119 hits across 118 contests. Williams, now a Brewer, picked up 44 extra-base hits in 96 games in a good rebound season after he missed a good chunk of 2024.

Carson Benge, after he was promoted from Brooklyn, tore through Double-A. The outfielder slashed .317/.407/.571 with eight home runs and 15 extra-base hits over 32 contests.

As for the pitching staff, the two standouts were Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong, although the now-Mets rookies were not the only pitchers to excel in the Eastern League.

McLean made just five starts with the Ponies this past season, where he struck out 30 over 26 innings. Tong, meanwhile, struck out an EL-high 162 batters over 102 innings. He also posted a 40% Whiff%, and, despite how his batted-ball profile shook out in the Majors, induced a lot of groundballs in Binghamton.

Aside from those two, Jack Wenninger (31.4% Whiff%) and Jonathan Santucci (39.7% Whiff%) dominated in Double-A, as well.

Syracuse Mets

We won’t spend too much time in this section, simply because A) there were a lot of ex-MLBers in Syracuse this season, and B) many players who were in upstate New York this year aren’t in the organization anymore.

Dom Hamel, Blade Tidwell, Brandon Sproat, Drew Gilbert, and Jett Williams were among some of those prospects no longer in the organization.

However, we will take this section as one more opportunity to write about Nolan McLean as a Minor Leaguer.

McLean’s arsenal was very polished when he was in Triple-A. The right-hander showed great feel for his stuff, which isn’t shocking given that McLean was able to excel very quickly as a Major League starter. Over 16 appearances with Syracuse, McLean struck out 97 over 87.1 IP and limited opposing batters to a .185 batting average.

Early Projected Top 5 for 2026

1. Nolan McLean
2. Carson Benge
3. Jonah Tong
4. A.J. Ewing
5. Elian Pena

The top three are rather obvious. It’s just a matter of how one ranks them.

McLean is the clear #1. The right-hander had immediate success in the Majors last season, and it’s almost unfair to call him a rookie even though he still has his eligibility for 2026.

After that, Benge slightly edges out Tong for #2.

With Williams & Sproat out of the organization, it does mean a shift up for the likes of A.J. Ewing and Elian Pena, the latter of whom had a fantastic year in the DSL.

After those five, pitchers like Jonathan Santucci, Will Watson, and R.J. Gordon are among some of those players in the 6-15 range, as is 2025 first-rounder Mitch Voit.