Mets Have Farm System to Get An Ace

In the second half of the 2025 season, the New York Mets had one of the worst rotations in baseball. Their 5.31 ERA was the fourth-highest and their 306 2/3 innings were the second-fewest. Only the Chicago White Sox had fewer innings from their starting rotation in the second half.

The Mets have a couple of potential young aces in Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong, and they have solid depth arms in David Peterson and Clay Holmes, but the last two unproductive years from Kodai Senga and a rough 2025 from Sean Manaea leave them without a proven major league ace.

The good news for the Mets is that they have one of the better farm systems in baseball and certainly have the pieces to get an ace without crippling it. They also have the ownership willing to pay to extend a player like Tarik Skubal if they could wiggle him away from the Tigers. Most major outlets have the Mets’ farm system with at least four prospects ranked in the Top 100 of the sport and a recent list by Just Baseball had eight Mets in their Top 100.

The aforementioned McLean and Tong are unanimous Top 100 prospects with Just Baseball ranking McLean all the way up to No. 3. Outfielder Carson Benge and versatile Jett Williams are also unanimous Top 100 prospects with MLB Pipeline having Benge at No. 21 and Williams at No. 30. Right-hander Brandon Sproat, OF/1B Ryan Clifford, 1B/3B Jacob Reimer, and OF/2B A.J. Ewing have all been ranked in at least one Top 100 list this year.

MLB Pipeline doesn’t have Reimer or Clifford ranked in their Top 100, but has Reimer ranked as the No. 3 third base prospect and Clifford as the No. 8 first base prospect in baseball. Pipeline recently did an article looking at 10 teams with the prospect capital to swing a big trade during next week’s Winter Meetings in Orlando and the Mets were one of the top teams mentioned.

Beyond the eight guys who have been ranked in a Top 100 list, the Mets also have young shortstop Elian Peña coming off a strong professional debut in the Dominican Summer League, right-handers Will Watson and Jack Wenninger coming off breakout seasons, and two players in the versatile Chris Suero and center fielder Nick Morabito coming off strong Arizona Fall League campaigns.

Combine that group with recent high draft picks of lefty Jonathan Santucci, infielders Mitch Voit, Antonio Jimenez, Boston Baro, outfielder Eli Serrano III, and hard throwers Dylan Ross and Ryan Lambert, you have a strong group in the Mets’ Top 25-30 prospects.

That gives president of baseball operations, David Stearns, plenty to work with when he’s talking to teams during the Winter Meetings. Specifically, potentially about Joe Ryan from the Twins, Tarik Skubal from the Tigers, Freddy Peralta from the Brewers, or any other starter that would improve the Mets’ top of the rotation. And, as previously noted, if the Mets got a rental ace like Skubal or Peralta, they also have the benefit of an owner who could pay to keep them in New York if they perform well.

There are a couple of top-of-the-rotation arms on the free agent market in Framber Valdez and Ranger Suárez, but Stearns might prefer to use his strong farm system to get a younger pitcher without the commitment of a long-term deal. Of course, the wild card here is Japanese right-hander Tatsuya Imai, who some scouts believe has ace potential and is only 27.

While Stearns and company have a ton of important decisions to make this offseason, with Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz being free agents at positions of need, and figuring out what to do in two outfield spots, what they decide to do at the top of the rotation could be the most significant factor in whether or not they make a playoff run in 2026.

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