David Stearns placed a huge emphasis on the Mets' drafting and development when he took over as the president of baseball operations. And before the team was viewed as a serious contender, Stearns was smartly reluctant to part with any of New York's most valued prospects via trade.
The result, a few years into Stearns' tenure, is that the Mets' farm system is now viewed as one of the very best in baseball.
And on ESPN's new top 30 list, the Mets' system is ranked No. 1.
Huge credit should also go to former GM Billy Eppler and Co., who helped assemble this system.
After being ranked No. 9 before the season, New York made the jump to the top of the list due in part to the amount of potentially high-impact prospects who are close to the majors.
Writes ESPN's Kiley McDaniel:
At this time next year, I'd expect six of New York's top eight prospects, if not more, to have either graduated or be up in the big leagues to stay, so this ranking won't last very long, but that's also because the Mets will have a roster teeming with useful big leaguers: the whole reason this list exists.
Of the prospects McDaniel is alluding to above,Nolan McLean is about to make his third big league start, while fellow right-handers Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong(both currently with Triple-A Syracuse) could debut before the season is over.
On the position player side, infielder/outfielder Jett Williams and outfielder Carson Benge were recently promoted to Syracuse.
The expectation is that Williams and Benge will both debut during the 2026 season.
In addition to the aforementioned players, SNY's Mets' top 30 prospects list is full of intriguing names. That includes power-hitting first baseman Ryan Clifford, teenage shortstop Elian Peña, third baseman Jacob Reimer, outfielder A.J. Ewing, and left-handed pitcher Jonathan Santucci.
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