The Most Divisive Mets Prospects

Every year, multiple outlets release both Top 100 lists and top prospects lists broken out by team. This leads to some disagreements between outlets on how players should be valued.

Here are the most divisive current Mets prospects.

A.J. Ewing

The general consensus is that A.J. Ewing is one of the best prospects in the Mets system. But that is the only thing some evaluators agree with. ESPN and Baseball Prospectus view him as a premier prospect in the sport, placing him at No. 28 and No. 38, respectively, while Baseball America (83), MLB Pipeline (97) and Keith Law (98) view him as more of a back of the top 100 guy. Fangraphs did not have Ewing on their latest top 100 list.

In regards to his glove, BP describes Ewing as a player who projects to be a plus defender in center who and can hold his own with the best defenders in the game, while Baseball America views him as only an above-average defender at the position. ESPN also only projects him to be above-average, while Keith Law agrees with BP that Ewing projects to be a plus defender in center field.

All the evaluators agree the contact tool is real but are split on his power. They all agree that he hits the ball harder than his power output would suggest, but disagree on his power ceiling. ESPN thinks a power strike is coming because of his pull and lift numbers, while Keith Law and BA think his spray will prevent him from hitting many home runs. BP is in the middle, projecting 10-15 HR type power.

Jacob Reimer

Jacob Reimer only made two top prospect lists—Fangraphs (63) and Baseball Prospectus (70). Reimer’s hit tool is the first part of his profile that evaluators are divided on. Baseball America thinks he can maintain an average hit tool because of his zone-contact rate and power, while Fangraphs thinks his plus timing will help him develop a plus hit tool. BP is more hesitant on his contact rates staying as high in the upper minors and majors but still thinks the overall bat projects well in the majors. Most outlets agree the power is real, though Keith Law has some concerns about his lack of hand load in working in the majors. Pipeline tied him with Ryan Clifford for the best power in the Mets’ farm system.

Defensively, there are debates on where his home should be. BP thinks he is athletic enough to be capable at third, but there are concerns with his arm and reliability there. They are concerned if he has the bat for first base and would try him at second base, but he doesn’t have a path there with the Mets at the moment.

Fangraphs feel his arm is fine for third base but fear he could be an early athleticism decline player and would be a below-average defender there. Fangraphs and BA think he has the bat for first base. BA views that as his future home, but Fangraphs has concerns over his ability to scoop and thinks his home is as a 40-grade defender at third base. Keith Law is more bullish on his third base defense, putting him at 45 there. Pipeline believes his bat will paper over any defensive deficiencies.

Will Watson

Only Baseball Prospectus snuck Will Watson onto the back of their Top 101 Prospects, putting him at 96th overall. He is as high as No. 7 on BP’s Mets prospect list and as low as No. 14 on BA’s. He has one of the larger spreads among Mets prospects who view him as anything from a helium mid-rotation starter to a future reliever.

BP is bullish on how his stuff grades from his low release point, and while they recognize his control and command are below average, limiting his ability to be a starter now, they reference his lack of amateur pitching reps and rapid development as a major factor for that. They feel this suggests further development is to come, and if he develops better control and command, they are bullish on his starter upside. BA is far more bearish on his ability to improve those traits, and Fangraphs fears that his longer arm stroke will impact his ability to improve there. Both BA and Fangraphs think he will be a multi-inning reliever or swing man. Keith Law believes his long arm swing will limit his future command and that if he can shorten that, he has a ceiling as a starter. Pipeline has concerns over his viability as a starter because of his control, but views his stuff as good enough to get him regular looks there.

In terms of stuff, there are also some disagreements. Fangraphs has concerns about his ability to maintain velocity, which could affect his fastball performance over long outings or throughout the season. BP echoed those concerns with velocity but overall lauded its shape. BA, meanwhile, thinks Watson has not yet hit his velocity ceiling and feels his fastball shape is good enough to be a plus pitch. BP is very bullish on his secondaries, especially his changeup, which they describe as plus. BA is also high on the changeup. Fangraphs views his secondaries as only above average. Pipeline does not rate any of his pitches as plus, but rates every pitch he has as above average.

All outlets do agree, though, that at his worst, he projects to be a nasty reliever who could have starter upside if he improves his command and control while maintaining velocity in longer outings. They largely disagree on his ability to do that.

Jonathan Santucci

Jonathan Santucci did not make any Top 100 lists. He ranged from the Mets’ 8th best prospect on Baseball America to 12th best by Baseball Prospectus. After being viewed as a first-round talent, Santucci was taken by the Mets in the second round after he fell because of issues with his medicals. Concerns over his medicals may be part of the reason BP ranked him as low as they did. Most outlets view him as a future starter, except for Fangraphs, who believe he is truly a lefty reliever prospect. Keith Law views his floor in the bullpen, but with a fourth starter or better ceiling. Pipeline views him as a strong backend starter candidate even without another pitch, but believes a true third pitch could turn him into a mid-rotation starter.

Fangraphs does not believe he has a feel for his release and has concerns about his ability to have enough control to be a starter. BA described him as improving his control dramatically across 2025 by focusing on the middle of the plate and letting the action on his pitches take over. BP was more in the middle of the two, describing his command as fringy and his arm action “a bit stiff.” This different view of his command had BA view him as a potential mid-rotation starter trending upwards, whereas BP views him as a potential mid-rotation starter trending downwards. Pipeline was the only outlet to give him average control, citing his 2025 walk rate improvements.

With regards to the pitches themselves, BA describes his fastball as playing up due to his extension and ride, which BP echoed. BP views his changeup as too firm, and his curve as being a pitch that “mostly hangs around to as a different look.” BA agrees on the curveball but views his changeup as a pitch in the developmental stage. Fangraphs agreed on the changeup and is very high on his slider. BA views his slider as his best pitch, while BP is bearish on his ability to utilize his slider against right-handed hitters. Pipeline gave his slider a 60 grade as his best pitch and a 55 grade to his fastball.

Elian Peña

The Mets gave Elian Peña a franchise record $5 million signing bonus during the 2025 international signing period. He is ranked as high as the 5th best Mets prospect, per Keith Law, to 10th on BA and BP. Peña spent all of 2025 in the Dominican Summer League, where he started slow, but his results improved as the season went on.

BP describes his contact and power as good but not great for his age and describes his ability to pull the ball in the air as his biggest asset. BA is bearish on his hit tool but more bullish than BP on his power tool. They view him as a “power-over-hit” player with above-average raw power. BP describes that power as just “fine for his age.” BP is also concerned that he is not making enough contact, even with his plus swing decisions. BA describes this as bordering on passivity, but he knows what to do when he gets his pitch and thinks this can improve with more experience. Fangraphs described his stance as looking stiffer in the DSL than he was billed as when signed. Keith Law bought into the DSL results more and views him as having 55-60 power, and Pipeline also gave him 55 power. Pipeline did raise some concern on how his uppercut swing will fare stateside.

Defensively, most outlets agree he is not likely to stay at shortstop. Pipeline did mention some scouts believe he could have the actions to be a solid shortstop, but others believe he will move to another position in the infield. Fangraphs thinks he has the ability to be a plus defender at third base. Baseball America questions his range but thinks he will have an above-average arm at third base. BP echoed that he will likely need to move off shortstop soon. Keith Law, meanwhile, believes he could move to second base and be an above-average defender there.

Honorable Mentions

• Jack Wenninger
• Antonio Jimenez
• Ryan Lambert
• Boston Baro

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