Mets 2025 Prospects: No. 19 Eli Serrano III
No. 19 Eli Serrano III
B/T: L/L Age: 21
Height: 6’5″ Weight: 201
Acquired: Fourth round of the 2024 draft out of NC State
ETA: 2027
2024 Stats: Single-A St. Lucie: .238/.333/.444/.777, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB, 3 2B, 2 3B, 7 BB, 16 SO, 72 PA
NC State: .286/.383/.433/.816, 9 HR, 39 RBI, 7 SB, 33 BB, 36 SO, 290 PA
Overview
The New York Mets selected Eli Serrano III in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft and signed him for $697,500, slightly over the slot value for the No. 111 overall pick. A tall outfielder, Serrano made good swing decisions throughout college and continued to in his limited minor league action in 2024. He struck out at just a 12.8% clip in his final year at NC State, and walked at almost the same clip.
The strikeout rate jumped to 22.2% in Single-A last season, but that was still better than average for the Florida State League and was overall in a very small sample.
Serrano has a chance to hit for more power than he’s shown. At 6-foot-5, he could have more natural strength if he puts on more muscle, and his batted ball results in Single-A flashed. Again, it was a small sample, but he hit the ball hard.
Credit Thomas Nestico, @TJStats on X
He consistently hit the ball hard, and did so while also frequently pulling the ball in the air. Usually, that’s a good combination. Both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline peg Serrano as a corner outfielder long-term, so he’ll likely need to continue to tap into that power to be a viable prospect as he moves through the minor leagues.
Serrano wasn’t a bad hitter in college, but he wasn’t a great one. His 96 wRC+ in 2023 and 83 wRC+ in 2024 are both below average, so the Mets are betting on Serrano’s tools and projection. In only 63 at-bats to end the season with Single-A St. Lucie, he slashed .238/.333/.444 good for a .778 OPs. Seven of his 15 hits were of the extra-base variety.
2025 Outlook
A college bat, Serrano will turn 22 years old on May 1, so he very likely starts the 2025 season with High-A Brooklyn. Coney Islands is not a forgiving environment for hitters, especially left-handed hitters. The Mets promoted Ryan Clifford to Double-A despite middling results just to get him out of there last season, so it will be interesting to see how Serrano handles it.
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