MLB Pipeline has been handing out Mets prospect rankings since 2011, and over that stretch the organization has cycled through 13 different players as its top-ranked talent. Some names barely got a chance to build a big league résumé.
Others turned that prospect shine into real MLB production. Put it all together, and the list tells a pretty clear story: a few Mets prospects became stars, a few became useful big leaguers, and plenty landed somewhere in between.
At the very top sits Zack Wheeler, who was the Mets’ No. 1 prospect in 2012. That ranking came not long after New York dealt Carlos Beltran to the San Francisco Giants in 2011, and Wheeler quickly became the prize.
His career has grown into a 46 bWAR body of work, with 127 wins and a 3.26 ERA. Those numbers are already strong, but even they don’t fully capture how good he has been, especially since leaving the Mets.
He has emerged as one of the best starting pitchers of the 2020s.
Pete Alonso is right behind him. The 2019 top Mets prospect didn’t just meet expectations - he blew past them.
He opened that season as the organization’s headlining young bat and closed it with 53 home runs, a rookie record, and NL Rookie of the Year honors. Among position players who have been ranked No. 1 by MLB Pipeline, no one has put together a better career.
The next tier starts with Andres Gimenez, the Mets’ top prospect in 2018 for one season. His bat has never been the main attraction, but his glove has carried real weight.
Since debuting in 2020, he has piled up 20.5 bWAR and already collected three Gold Gloves. A return to second base later in his career could give him another chance to add to that total.
Wilmer Flores, the first Mets prospect ever to take the No. 1 spot on MLB Pipeline’s list in 2011, lands fourth. He never became the franchise centerpiece some hoped for, but he still put together a meaningful career: 169 home runs and a .745 OPS.
His defensive shortcomings drag down the overall numbers, but that doesn’t erase the clutch moments he delivered for New York. The peak wasn’t as high as some others on this list, yet the long run counts for plenty.
Amed Rosario checks in next after being the Mets’ top prospect in 2017. He was once part of the trade that sent Noah Syndergaard to New York, and he has carved out a solid big league career of his own. His .271 batting average stands out, especially in the era he has played in, and his continued productivity gives him the edge over Syndergaard here.
Syndergaard, the Mets’ No. 1 prospect in both 2014 and 2015, had the kind of early career that made him one of the most exciting arms in baseball. He was quick, flashy, and highly touted, with an All-Star appearance and distant Cy Young consideration on his résumé. Injuries slowed everything down too soon, though, and that early derailment keeps him from climbing higher.
Steven Matz, the top Mets prospect in 2016, comes in seventh. His brief run with the club in 2015 helped push him into that spot, but his overall career has mostly settled into average territory.
A 4.29 ERA and 96 ERA+ say as much. He’s had good stretches and rough ones, with a lot of in-between mixed in.
Travis d’Arnaud, the Mets’ No. 1 prospect in 2013, had a long enough career to matter, even if it never matched the loftiest expectations. He lasted 14 years in the majors, which is nothing to shrug at, but plenty of other players on this list passed him by. The pitchers he worked with in New York ended up becoming the bigger stars.
Nolan McLean has already moved past Francisco Alvarez in this ranking, even though Alvarez was the Mets’ top prospect in 2021, 2022, and 2023. McLean, the 2026 No. 1 prospect, has a 4.8 bWAR and a 2.93 ERA through 39 big league starts.
That’s enough to make the case right now, and he looks poised to climb fast. Within another season, top five feels very realistic.
Alvarez lands 10th for now, but not because the ceiling isn’t still there. He has a 4.1 bWAR and remains one of the most promising young players in the organization. The offensive upside is still the headliner, and he’s one of the more intriguing players the Mets have.
Brandon Sproat, the Mets’ No. 1 prospect in 2025, is 11th with a -0.4 bWAR and a 5.43 ERA in the majors. The numbers are rough, but he gets a little more leeway than Ronny Mauricio because he’s a pitcher and his future still feels more immediately promising.
Mauricio, the 2020 top prospect, sits just ahead of Jett Williams despite only managing a 0.9 bWAR across parts of three seasons with the Mets. His .232 batting average and struggles against left-handed pitchers have left him looking like a major underachiever, and his future with the club does not look especially bright.
Williams, the Mets’ top prospect in 2024, rounds out the list because he hasn’t reached the majors yet. He had a rough 2026 in the minors for the Milwaukee Brewers, but his particular set of skills still gives him a path to big league baseball someday.
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