The Mets' farm system is on the upswing and has five of the best prospects in baseball, but they're still not quite in the upper echelon when it comes to the top systems in MLB.

In Keith Law of The Athletic's farm system rankings ahead of the 2023 season, the Mets came in at No. 15, right behind the Yankees.

As far as the rest of the NL East, the Washington Nationals were No. 11, the Miami Marlins were No. 21, the Philadelphia Phillies were No. 22, and the Atlanta Braves -- who have traded lots of prospects over the last few seasons while others have graduated and become big league stars -- were No. 29.

Law, who had five Mets prospects ranked in his recent top 100 list, had this to say about the overall state of the system:

"The current system is pretty top-heavy, but the upper tier, which has the five guys on the top 100 plus two more I’d say were in the next 30-40, is good enough to make this a mid-level farm system overall. There’s some intriguing pitching much lower down, but nobody has popped yet to be a likely big league starter."

The prospects Law is referring to as in the next 30-40 after the top 100 could be shortstop Jett Williams and right-handed pitcher Blade Tidwell, who were both selected in the 2022 MLB Draft.

Other Mets prospects who could see their stock rise this season -- and possibly get some recognition on midseason top 100 lists -- include right-handed pitchers Calvin Ziegler and Matt Allan.

The Mets prospects Law had ranked in his top 100 were C Francisco Alvarez (No. 7),
3B Brett Baty (No. 31), C Kevin Parada (No. 44), OF Alex Ramirez (No. 68), and INF Ronny Mauricio (No. 87).

Since dealing CF Pete Crow-Armstrong to the Chicago Cubs in a rental trade for Javier Baez at the deadline in 2021, the Mets have made a concerted effort to keep their most highly thought of prospects. Crow-Armstrong is now viewed by most evaluators as one of the top 30 or so prospects in baseball.

The ultimate goal of owner Steve Cohen, which is getting closer to becoming a reality with Alvarez, Baty, and perhaps Mauricio poised to make an impact in the bigs in 2023, is to lean heavily on the farm system to produce stars and MLB regulars while having to rely much less on the top end of the free agent market.