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Mets Prospect Roundup: Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty cooling off in May
While the Mets currently own the best record in the National League, their farm system has also been hard at work as the minor league season is in full swing.
In case you’ve been too focused on the big league club (and with good reason), here’s a snapshot of how the Mets’ top prospects have been performing in 2022…
Triple-A Syracuse
3B/1B/OF Mark Vientos
In his first season starting the year at the Triple-A level, Vientos has gotten off to a very slow start with Syracuse. In 22 games, Vientos is slashing .188/.313/.362 with two homers and 12 RBI. Vientos played 11 games at the Triple-A level last season, hit .278 with a .978 OPS, so he’s proven that he can hit pitching at this level, it’s just been a struggle so far this season.
Double-A Binghamton
The No. 1 overall prospect in the Mets system, Alvarez go off to a red-hot start, hitting .324 with a .794 slugging percentage and four home runs over his first nine game at Double-A Binghamton. It’s been a bit of a struggle in his last 12 games though, particularly in the month of May, as Alvarez is slashing just .125/.250/.125 in six games this month.
3B/OF Brett Baty
Baty’s season has closely mirrored what Alvarez has done. A fantastic start (.375/.419/.605 slash line through 10 games) at Double-A Binghamton has cooled off as the calendar flipped to May. In seven games this month, Baty is hitting just .185, but he’s still off to a strong start overall with his .264/.350/.735 slash line to go along with one homer and six RBI.
The month of May has also not been very kind to the powerful shortstop prospect. Mauricio is slashing just .207/.233/.379 in seven games this month. Overall, Mauricio’s numbers matchup with what he’s done since turning pro in 2018. His .255 batting average is slightly up from last season (.248 combined in Brooklyn and Binghamton), but he’s still striking out at a fairly high clip, punching out 25 times in 23 games this season.
RHP Jose Butto
While top pitching prospect Matt Allan has been recovering from Tommy John surgery, 24-year-old right-hander Jose Butto has been making some waves in the minors. Butto was tremendous in April, pitching to a 3.00 ERA with 26 strikeouts and only six walks in 18.0 innings. He’s had a couple of rough outings mixed in, but he rebounded from a shaky performance nicely last Tuesday, allowing one earned run on just three hits with seven strikeouts over 4.1 innings.
Low-A St. Lucie
RHP Calvin Ziegler
At just 19 years old, Ziegler’s big-league debut is still pretty far down the road, but the Mets’ second-round pick in 2021 has been impressing at Low-A St. Lucie. In five starts this season, Ziegler has pitched to a 3.38 ERA, striking out a whopping 30 hitters in just 18.2 innings while posting a 1.07 WHIP.
