Monday, October 12

Welcome back to the Mets Beat newsletter! Anthony DiComo has covered the Mets for MLB.com since 2007, including the past 17 seasons full-time on the beat. 

NEW YORK -- It was a unique season on the farm for the Mets, who saw three distinct forces take hold of their organization.

The first was a group of big league-ready players led by Nolan McLean, Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing, who spent most or all of the year in the Majors and distinguished themselves as productive players. The second was the next wave of prospects behind them, who largely struggled to keep pace, weakening the depth of New York’s system. And the third was an influx of talent at the Trade Deadline, which bolstered that depth all over again. 

Once more, the Mets will enter 2027 with quite a few players ready to make an impact. Here are three to watch heading into the year: 

1. Jefferson Rojas, 2B 

When the Mets acquired Rojas for Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor on Deadline day, they were clearly getting a highly skilled prospect -- ranked first in the Cubs’ system -- whose greatest strength seemed like his relative lack of weaknesses. At the time of the trade, Rojas (Mets No. 1 prospect, MLB No. 68) had 15 home runs and an .800 OPS over 91 games at Double-A Knoxville. 

Then the Mets traded for him, and Rojas almost immediately leveled up -- both literally and figuratively. In just 29 games at Double-A Binghamton, Rojas clubbed nine home runs with a .929 OPS. That earned him a season-ending promotion to Triple-A Syracuse, where Rojas hit a home run in each of his first three games. 

He’ll begin next year back at Syracuse with a chance to crack the Majors at some point in 2027, provided he keeps hitting … and provided the Mets have a place for him. Mostly a shortstop throughout his Minor League career, Rojas also has ample experience at second and third base. Given the Mets’ uncertainty on the right side of the infield, second makes the most sense for Rojas in 2027, even if some scouts believe his best long-term fit is third. 

2. Jonathan Santucci, LHP 

A few weeks after Santucci earned a promotion from Binghamton to Syracuse, Triple-A pitching coach A.J. Sager stood in as a hitter for one of Santucci’s bullpen sessions. Sager, a veteran coach, had never seen Santucci’s slider from that perspective. 

“When it breaks, it’s just like, ‘Bam! Bam!’” Sager said during a recent interview. “You notice that. It’s sharp.” 

Santucci’s slider was the key to his season, which saw the team’s No. 2 prospect produce a 2.54 ERA over his final 10 starts at Binghamton, before advancing to Syracuse and striking out 43 batters over 34 1/3 innings. Like many young pitchers, Santucci needs to cut down on his walk rate, which has increased as he’s moved up the Minor League ladder. If he proves unable to do so, he will follow in the footsteps of teammates Jack Wenninger and Jonah Tong, who saw their big league opportunities delayed for that reason. But if Santucci can maintain the sharpness of his pitches while walking fewer batters, he stands a solid chance of making a 2027 impact. 

Santucci should be in Spring Training as one of 10-12 starters the Mets expect to use at some point during the year. 

“The big leagues -- my ultimate dream -- is only one step away now,” Santucci said shortly after his Triple-A promotion. “So just keep chugging along and keep getting better.” 

3. Émilien Pitre, 2B 

Wait, two second basemen? The Mets actually have three of them close to the Majors in Rojas, Pitre and 2025 first-round pick Mitch Voit, who ended this season at Binghamton. Any or all of those three could spend time in Flushing next season. 

Unlike Voit, however, Pitre already has Triple-A experience -- 20 games of it, or roughly the same amount Benge had before cracking the 2026 Opening Day roster. Pitre, the organization’s 10th-ranked prospect and one of three players the Mets acquired for Freddy Peralta, probably won’t have the same wide-open opportunity that Benge enjoyed last spring. But he’s a versatile infielder who just hit .306 with six homers, five triples, 22 doubles and 35 steals over 118 games split amongst three Minor League levels. Pitre has a safe floor as a Major League bench player, with potential for more if he can seize extra time at second or third base. 

“I try to stay ready,” Pitre said last month at Syracuse. “In the offseason, I’m going to work hard to stay in shape and gain a few pounds maybe and get faster and get stronger. It’s getting real.”

Who led the 1999 Mets in WAR? 

A) Edgardo Alfonzo
B) John Olerud 

C) Mike Piazza 

D) Robin Ventura 

Spare a thought this week for Ethan Wilson, the Mets’ executive director of communications who recently underwent emergency surgery. Ethan is the beating heart of the Mets’ clubhouse, someone who’s been with the organization for more than a quarter-century and, along the way, has garnered the respect of players and media members alike. No one -- and I mean this genuinely -- loves the Mets more than Ethan.

Many fans are familiar with Jay Horwitz, the Mets’ longtime PR man who remains with the organization as its vice president of alumni relations. Fewer are familiar with Wilson, one of Horwitz’s protégées, who began his career working for the Single-A Pittsfield Mets in Massachusetts. Perhaps they should be. Ethan is the type of optimist who believes the Mets should go 162-0 every year. When they don’t, he’s disappointed. I know that same sense of optimism will carry him through this latest challenge.

This week’s trivia question is a nod to Ethan, whose first year in the organization was 1999. 

• Three coaches won’t return to the Mets’ staff next year. Among them is director of hitting Jeff Albert, whom the team had promoted from the Minors before this season. The Mets will now search for a new coach either to lead the department or serve behind incumbent hitting coach Troy Snitker. 

• Our Pipeline team has updates on two Mets prospects playing in the Arizona Fall League. One is Bruin Agbayani, whose name you probably recognize for obvious reasons. Sam Dykstra has his reaction to getting traded to the Mets, of all teams. The other is Cole Mathis, another Deadline acquisition from the David Peterson deal. Jesse Borek caught up with Mathis, who’s looking to make up for some lost time in the AFL. 

D) Robin Ventura

Although Alfonzo led the Mets in hits and Piazza in home runs, it was Ventura who paced them all in WAR. Thanks to a solid all-around offensive campaign and exemplary play at third base, Ventura racked up 6.7 bWAR and 7.3 fWAR. Both were team highs. 

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