Multiple Mets Prospects Praised in New MLB Pipeline Executive Polls
MLB Pipeline polled executives on their picks for who will be the most likely to win the Rookie of the Year award in 2026 and which pitching prospects are the best in baseball. Multiple Mets prospects were highly ranked in these polls.
Starting pitcher Nolan McLean placed second in the rookie of the year award projections with 25.6% of the vote. He made his debut in 2025 and pitched 48 innings to a 2.06 ERA and 1.042 WHIP. Because he pitched less than 50 innings and spent less than 45 days on the active Major League roster, he retains his rookie status for 2026. He is also expected to be prospect promotion incentive eligible. If he earns a full year of service time in 2026 and either wins the rookie of the year award or places top three in Cy Young voting before hitting arbitration, the Mets would get an additional draft pick.
Mets outfield prospect Carson Benge also received votes after a 2025 season where he slashed .281/.385/.472/.857. He is also expected to be prospect promotion incentive eligible, and president of baseball operations David Stearns stated at the general manager meetings on November 11, 2025, that Benge “is going to come into Spring Training with a chance to make our team.” Carson Benge was named by executives as one of MLB’s most underrated prospects with 4.9% of the vote.
When discussing the top pitching prospects, Nolan McLean was voted the best pitching prospect with 25.6% of the vote, narrowly beating out Pirates pitching prospect Bubba Chandler. Mets prospect Jonah Tong was also listed among the pitching prospects to receive votes for the best pitching prospect in MLB. Tong debuted in 2025 after pitching to a 1.58 ERA and 0.924 WHIP across 113.2 innings in the minors across the 2025 season. He is also expected to be prospect promotion incentive eligible in 2026 and was named Baseball America’s Pitching Prospect of the Year for the 2025 season.
McLean also got votes for which pitching prospects could be the best future closer. Mets pitching prospect Brandon Sproat placed fifth in the closer pool with 4.9% of the vote. Sproat also debuted in 2025 and pitched 20.2 innings to a 4.79 ERA and 1.210 WHIP.
Finally, Mitch Voit, the Mets’ first draft pick in the 2025 draft, was listed as one of the players to get votes for the breakout prospect of the year for the 2026 season. In 22 games after the draft, Voit slashed .235/.343/.294/.638 with 20 stolen bases. He started slow, slashing .167/.255/.167/.422 in his first 11 games, but in his final 11 games, Voit slashed .302/.423/.419/.842. He also made big strides defensively while flashing his base-running skills, and he will look to build on this in 2026.
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