5 best ranked Mets prospects the team shouldn't hesitate to trade in the right deal

How far are the New York Mets willing to push this summer to build a true World Series contender? The general consensus seems to be they’ll add but not break the farm system to build a true powerhouse team.

It’s understandable. They don’t have any pressing needs in the starting lineup. They have more starting pitchers than they know what to do with. While certain dream trade scenarios could make sense, this year’s Mets team is probably going to roll along with what they have.

The Mets definitely have some notable prospects who could be on the move. In the right deal, they shouldn’t hesitate to trade any of these five.

1) Alex Ramirez, MLB Pipelined ranked 16th

Alex Ramirez has a couple of strikes against him. Already on the 40-man roster out of necessity to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, he looks far from MLB-ready. He’s currently in Double-A and after a hot start he has cooled off.

In 287 Double-A plate appearances, Ramirez has slashed .242/.322/.349 with 3 home runs. His greatest ability has been stealing bases. He has swiped a career-best 25 this season while getting caught just 6 times.

Ramirez has become expendable for the Mets if only because they have so many other outfield options in the pipeline. Jett Williams and Drew Gilbert have surpassed him. Luisangel Acuna is well ahead of him as a center field option as well. Future Mets rosters will have Brandon Nimmo in left field and at least one of these guys in center field or right field. Ramirez, at best, seems like he’d be able to scratch his way into a bench role with the Mets in the future.

The Mets wisely protected Ramirez from getting snagged in the Rule 5 Draft by a team with patience and a roster spot to place him on the bench. The overly protective action of adding him to the 40-man roster should also lead to the team looking to swap him for a potential bullpen upgrade.

2) Kevin Parada, MLB Pipelined ranked 9th

Many fans were soured on Kevin Parada last year. Unfortunately, this season hasn’t gone much better. Drafted ahead of Jett Williams back in 2022, Parada’s days with the Mets organization have always felt numbered with the quick rise of Francisco Alvarez. What purpose does it serve to keep him around if someone is willing to take a chance?

Parada’s trade value has tanked further this year, but that shouldn’t stop some teams from viewing him as a viable prospect worth adding to their farm system. The “change of scenery” scenario could always apply here. After all, Parada has to be smart enough to realize starting for the Mets is a near impossibility. A backup role is the best he could hope for and those jobs are best suited for journeymen veterans or gifted defenders. Parada is neither.

The bat hasn’t come to life this year. After 230 trips to the plate, Parada has offered a .211/.287/.368 slash line with 7 home runs. He strikes out a ton, too. He has 79 already this season in 58 games. Compared to 19 walks, Parada is about as undisciplined as they come.

One good quality is he has thrown out 22% of attempted base stealers. This is around what the average is in the major leagues. There may be some hope for him there.

3) Nick Morabito, MLB Pipeline Ranked 26th

In a different pack of Mets minor leaguers is Nick Morabito. A rising prospect having a nice year, the reason for trading him isn’t because it’s time to give up.

Morabito is a light-hitting outfielder with speed and a tremendous bat to ball ability. An old-school style of player, he’s a bit of a clone of another Mets prospect they already have, Rhylan Thomas. The main difference is Thomas is ahead of Morabito in terms of MLB-ready; if he ever gets there at all.

Players like Morabito don’t tend to translate well into everyday players. He can be exciting but the absence of power gets exhausting and usually has players like him on the bench. When it comes to trading a player like him away, it’s a no-brainer if you can improve your chances at a championship.

Morabito was promoted from St. Lucie to Brooklyn with a .397/.530/.513 slash line. He has hit well in Brooklyn, but the drop off is big—how could it not be? In High-A, Morabito holds a .288/.376/.368 slash line. The noticeable slugging percentage below the OBP tells us exactly what type of player he can be. He will never hit for much power.

Morabito does run a lot. With 33 stolen bases this season, he’s a pain for opposing pitchers. A nice and maybe more fun hitter to watch play, the Mets bench is the best place he could end up if he stays with the organization.

4) Tyler Stuart, MLB Pipeline Ranked 18th

The Mets need to be extremely cautious about any pitchers they may trade away. Someone whose stock has fallen this season after a tremendous rise in 2023 is Tyler Stuart. The big righty hasn’t been the same run-prevention master. In the right deal, the Mets shouldn’t balk.

Stuart dazzled us all with a 2.20 ERA in 110.2 innings last season. It did jump from 1.55 to 3.60 when he went from High-A to Double-A. Back in Double-A again in 2024, it has gone up even higher. Through 13 starts and 61 innings, Stuart is just 2-6 with a 4.72 ERA. He has pitched with control, walking less than 3 batters per 9 and has more than a strikeout per frame. His problem has been batters doing their jobs and finding hits.

There are more than enough other starting pitching prospects for the Mets to build around. From Christian Scott to Brandon Sproat to the duo of Dom Hamel and Mike Vasil trying to figure it out in Triple-A, there are enough minor league arms to hope to see pitching for the Mets regularly as soon as next season.

Stuart is a little further behind them. His struggles in 2024 have made him expendable. Don’t get rid of him too quickly, though. If this starting pitcher thing doesn’t work, a shift to the bullpen might.

5) Ronald Hernandez, MLB Pipeline Ranked 21st

Ronald Hernandez was a trade deadline addition last summer. Acquired from the Miami Marlins in the David Robertson deal, many of the same rules with Parada apply to him. There is no need to bear hug your best catching prospects when you have a young stud like Alvarez.

Only 20-years-old, Hernandez is quickly becoming a notable catching prospect in MLB. He’s with St. Lucie batting .290/.385/.387 in 252 trips to the plate. Given some time at first base and the DH spot as well, Hernandez is a different type of hitter than Alvarez—at least so far. He hasn’t had the power explosion. Listed at 5’11 and only 155 pounds, growing into a larger frame will help.

Hernandez falls well behind Parada on the list of top Mets prospects anywhere you may look, but the spidey-sense might have you desiring to keep him more. Hernandez has yet to hit a wall in the minor leagues.

Just because Hernandez is blocked at his main position for the foreseeable future doesn’t mean the Mets have to toss him aside carelessly. But in the current state of Major League Baseball where about half of the teams don’t expect a thing offensively from their catchers, having a young guy like him hitting seems like too good of an asset to not use. It was Hernandez and Marco Vargas whom the Mets received for Robertson. Has Hernandez proven himself enough where it could just be him headlining a trade for a lesser pitcher?

This article was originally published on risingapple.com as 5 best ranked Mets prospects the team shouldn't hesitate to trade in the right deal.