5 Mets prospects featured on MLB Pipelines updated Top-100 list – The Denver Post

Two weeks ago, it was difficult to see a future for the Mets. But now that the trade deadline is in the rearview mirror and the club can assess its assets, it’s getting easier to see the forest through the trees.

MLB Pipeline re-ranked the top 100 prospects in baseball this week with the draft and trade deadline now having both passed. The Mets landed five prospects on that list, two of which were acquired in trades for former aces Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.

Infielder Luisangel Acuña was the highest-ranked prospect at No. 40 on the list. The younger brother of Ronald Acuña Jr., and the son of former Mets farmhand Ronald Acuña Sr., recently got a chance to introduce himself to fans in the area when Double-A Binghamton visited Bridgewater, N.J.,  for a series against Double-A Somerset earlier this week. It was quite the preview: The 21-year-old went 2-for-2 with a double, a walk and three stolen bases in the first game of the series. He’s a smooth-fielding shortstop who is already eying second base with Francisco Lindor locked up through the 2031 season.

Outfielder Drew Gilbert was ranked No. 57. The Mets do not have a lot of elite talent at the higher levels of their farm system, but Gilbert helped them bolster the talent in Double-A. Gilbert, along with High-A outfielder Ryan Clifford, was acquired in the trade that sent Verlander back to the Houston Astros. Acuña came from the Texas Rangers in exchange for Scherzer. The Mets covered nearly $100 million in salary for Scherzer, Verlander, outfielders Mark Canha and Tommy Pham, relievers David Robertson and Dominic Leone and third baseman Eduardo Escobar, but the hope is that the long-term result outweighs the cost.

General manager Billy Eppler managed to get elite talent in return for those veterans, helping get the Mets closer to their goal of creating an elite farm system. This is the goal of owner Steve Cohen, who has shifted his priorities from winning now to winning 2-3 years from now and beyond.

Shortstop/outfielder Jett Williams (High-A Brooklyn), shortstop Ronny Mauricio (Triple-A Syracuse) and catcher Kevin Parada also made the list at Nos. 84, 93 and 96, respectively. The Mets drafted Williams and Parada and signed Mauricio out of the Dominican Republic. It’s a good sign that these three made the list, but now the Mets have to develop them. This is where the Mets have struggled in recent years.

Development doesn’t end once players are called up to the big leagues. Player development continues well into a big-league career. The Mets are investing significant resources in player development, like creating a pitching lab and upgrading the technology. Personnel hires have been made as well. The Mets might be playing catch-up with the rest of the league when it comes to developing talent, but money is a good way to expedite the process.

An elite farm system is a good goal, though there are no guarantees that it will lead to an elite Major League roster. The Mets had two supposed super prospects in Amed Rosario and Dom Smith at the start of 2017, and neither developed into perennial All-Stars. Rosario has been traded twice and Dominic Smith was not tendered a contract last winter.

Landing five players on a top-100 list is a good start, but it’s only that — a start.

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