SNY's Joe DeMayo answers your Mets prospect questions…
Have the Mets ever had a season with this much organizational team success? – @JacobMunch1 on X
The short answer is no. But you aren’t here for short answers.
It is a credit to the players, the amateur scouting department — both domestically and internationally — as well as the player development staff at every level putting together an excellent minor league season.
Here is a breakdown of what each affiliate accomplished this season:
Triple-A Syracuse: 76-73 record, narrowly missing the playoffs in the International League. However, the growth prospects have made there has led to big league contributions from the likes of Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong (albeit he only made two Triple-A starts). There are also a few prospects at the level who you could look forward to impacting the big league club in 2026, with No. 1 prospect Jett Williams, No. 3 prospect Carson Benge, No. 6 prospect Ryan Clifford,and No. 19 prospect Dylan Ross.
Double-A Binghamton: Set a franchise record with 90 wins and as of this writing are down 1-0 in a three-game series against Erie for the Eastern League Championship. They reaped the benefit of having most of the top prospects listed above, who ended the season with Syracuse. The Rumble Ponies also had breakout players in No. 8 prospect, third baseman Jacob Reimer and No. 9 prospect, outfielder A.J. Ewing.
On the pitching side, they had the next wave of starters after the graduation of McLean, Sproat and Tong, with No. 10 prospect Jonathan Santucci, No. 11 prospect Jack Wenninger, No. 14 prospect Will Watson, and R.J. Gordon. On the relief side, they have No. 21 prospect Ryan Lambert,whom I can envision making his big-league debut in 2026.
High-A Brooklyn: 72-59 record and won the South Atlantic League Championship for the first time since being moved to full-season ball in 2021. Their season was largely carried by a lot of the names you have already read, as well as players who were included in trades at the deadline like Jesus Baez and Raimon Gomez. In the stretch run and into the postseason they got contributions from pitchers like Noah Hall, Joel Dîaz and Brett Banks, among others.
Offensively, names like outfielder Eli Serrano and infielders Boston Baro and Marco Vargas contributed late.
Low-A St. Lucie: 78-52 record and was eliminated in three games in the Florida State League Divisional Series by Daytona. Ewing was the highest regarded prospect who played for St. Lucie this year. They received contributions from top 30 prospects in No. 20 prospect (infielder Trey Snyder), No. 25 prospect (catcher Daiverson Gutierrez), No. 26 prospect (infielder Jeremy Rodriguez) and No. 30 prospect (right-hander Jace Hampson).
This is also the team that had the professional debuts of exciting 2025 draft picks Mitch Voit, Antonio Jimenez, and Truman Pauley. A name to keep an eye on for 2026 is outfielder Randy Guzman, who posted a .985 OPS in 26 games.
ESPN recently ranked the Mets' system as the best system in baseball. That ranking naturally will take a dip at some point next year when McLean, Sproat, and Tong graduate. But this organizational success is an example of the Mets' improved player development system under senior vice president of player development Andy Green.
In order to have sustained success, player development needs to be constantly churning out prospects who either come to the big league team themselves and help or are valuable in trades to get veterans to help the big league team. The Mets are on their way to being that type of organization.
How soon next year could we see Carson Benge? Or do you feel the Mets should sign someone else for center field? – @thecmoney21 on X
The Mets were impressed with Benge’s growth as a center fielder defensively throughout this year. It is a new position for him, as he played right field in college. While he is not an elite athlete, he is a good one who showed improved jumps and reads as he got more reps in center field. He still has more to prove defensively, but there is optimism that he could stick there.
As far as how quickly he could be in the big leagues, a lot of that will depend on how Benge performs and what the true need ends up being at the big league level.
I envision the Mets being sure they are covered from a veteran standpoint, ideally on a short-term deal to not block young players like Benge or Williams or Ewing, who could potentially hold down center field before long.
Benge reached Triple-A in his first professional season after he beat up High-A and Double-A pitching to the tune of a .308/.413/.513 slash line with 24 doubles, six triples and 12 home runs in 92 games.
The results in Triple-A weren’t quite there consistently, but it was just a 24-game sample size, and he missed nearly two weeks after being hit in the wrist area by a pitch.
He closed out the year strong, hitting .320 with a 1.132 OPS in his last seven games with two home runs.
Benge has emerged as a consensus top 35 prospect in baseball in the latest rankings from major outlets like MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and The Athletic.
I expect him to receive a big league spring training invite and if he continues his offensive trajectory and takes that next step defensively, I think it is realistic to see Benge in Queens by Memorial Day 2026.
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