Three Mets Make Keith Law’s Prospect Rankings

Starting pitcher Brandon Sproat, shortstop Jett Williams and infielder Ronny Mauricio made the cut for the top 100 prospects according to The Athletic‘s Keith Law, who posted his annual list Monday.

Sproat, 24, debuted at 30 on the list after going 7-4 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 24 appearances (23 starts) across three minor-league levels. While he was excellent at Single-A Brooklyn (1.07 ERA) and Double-A Binghamton (2.45 ERA), he was hit hard at Triple-A Syracuse, where Law wrote that “his fringy command came back to bite him, with too many fastballs left about belt-high and more experienced hitters better able to pick up some of his off-speed stuff.”

Sproat pitched to a 7.53 ERA and 1.64 WHIP at Syracuse and allowed seven homers in seven starts (28.2 innings pitched).

“He works heavily off a four-seamer that’s been up to 99-100 and sits 96-97, while his best pitch is a slider that’s above-average to plus depending on the day; he’ll throw a decent change, a curve and a two-seamer as well,” Law wrote. “It’ll always be control over command, as he’s so aggressive that it’s hard to foresee him ever toning it down enough to be precise with his locations.

“He’ll have to do a little bit of refinement to make the last leap to the majors, as hitters will hit your stuff, no matter how good it is, if you put it on a tee for them. He has some similarities to Edwin Jackson, a huge stuff guy who was more of a No. 4 starter for most of his career, although I think Sproat has better control than Jackson did at the same age.”

Jackson was 107-133 with a 4.78 ERA in 17 MLB seasons (2003-2019) with 14 teams.

Williams, ranked No. 61, was down 31 spots from a year ago after a wrist injury cost him months of playing time and he scuffled to a .215/.358/.298 slash line with no home runs in 148 plate appearances across three levels. Law said that the 21-year-old “might be better suited to second base regardless of the presence of Francisco Lindor at shortstop in Queens.”

“It’s a compact swing combined with very good ball/strike awareness, and he could be a high-average/high-OBP second baseman with 55-60 defense, which would make him a solid or better regular,” Law wrote. “His 2024 season was just a lost year, and while he can’t get those at-bats back, it’s also possible that we’ll have to just disregard what he did do when he played because he wasn’t 100 percent.”

Williams, selected in the first round (14th overall) of the 2022 draft out of a Texas high school, had an excellent 2023 when he hit 13 home runs, stole 45 bases and slashed .263/.425/.451 across three levels, rising as high as Double-A.

A Surprise in Mauricio

Mauricio, 23, rose three spots to No. 91 despite missing 2024 after tearing his ACL playing winter ball. Law called him the Mets’ best prospect before the injury. He hit 23 homers and stole 24 bases at Syracuse in 2023 and hit two home runs and stole seven bases in 26 games with the Mets.

“He’s just way too aggressive at the plate, chasing off-speed stuff out of the zone at a rate that’s not going to be sustainable for a major-league regular – which is why the loss of a year-plus of plate appearances was so damaging for him, as he needs to work on ball/strike and pitch recognition, and the best way to do that is by playing,” Law wrote.

“I’ve said before he reminds me a ton of Alfonso Soriano, who had similarly electric wrists, never figured out shortstop, and wasn’t anything close to ‘patient’ at the plate, but improved his approach enough to hit 412 homers and play 16 years in the majors. That’s a best-case scenario for Mauricio, and probably more unlikely after the injury.”

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