The Mets’ season has been a slog, and that much is impossible to ignore. A club carrying the second-highest luxury tax payroll and a lineup full of big names was supposed to be chasing something far different than a last-place finish in the NL East.
But while the veterans have disappointed, a group of rookies has given the organization something real to hang onto. Carson Benge, Nolan McLean, Christian Scott, Zac Thornton and A.J.
Ewing have each flashed enough to look like part of New York’s next wave. If that future is going to take shape in 2027, though, each one still has a specific area that needs work.
Benge has already shown why the Mets are excited. He’s long in the outfield, has a cannon for an arm, runs well and brings both contact and pop to the plate.
From May 1 through September 6, he hit .294/.352/.445 with 14 home runs. The issue is what happens when pitchers stop challenging him with fastballs.
Against sliders, he has a -1 run value and a .230 average. Curveballs have been even tougher, producing a -2 run value and a .184 average.
Sweepers have also given him problems, with a -1 run value and a .235 average. By contrast, he’s crushed four-seamers for an 11 run value and a .331 average.
Since breaking balls made up 27.6% of the pitches he saw, that gap matters, and it figures to matter even more if that number climbs in 2027.
McLean brings a different kind of promise. He misses bats, gets ground balls and has an arsenal that Baseball Savant lists at seven pitches deep.
He’s shown toughness, too, the kind that makes you think about a future ace. Still, one thing is missing: hitters don’t chase him much.
His chase rate sits at 27.7%, good for the 21st percentile, and that drags down the rest of the profile. His whiff rate is just 24.1%, which ranks in the 43rd percentile, and the lack of swing-and-miss has helped push his walk rate to 9.7%.
If he’s going to take the next step, he needs one pitch to really separate itself and make hitters miss more often. Simplifying things could help.
Thornton’s rise has already given the Mets something valuable. He doesn’t need to be a star to matter; he looks like the kind of mid-rotation starter teams spend a fortune trying to buy.
He throws strikes, avoids walks and uses command to manage contact. Like McLean, he has a deep mix, though he’s more finesse than power.
The problem is that while he gets chases, he doesn’t finish enough at-bats. His whiff rate is 19%, an eighth-percentile mark.
That leaves him vulnerable to the kind of contact that can turn into a mess, especially against better hitters who can still poke balls through the defense even when they’re expanding the zone. He needs a pitch that can reliably miss bats.
Ewing’s season has gone in waves. He started hot, cooled off after the All-Star break and now appears to be coming out of it in September.
One of the biggest issues has been his work against four-seam fastballs, which he’s seen 28.9% of the time. Against that pitch, he has a -4 run value, a .179 average and a .326 slugging percentage.
Even so, there’s reason to think the damage may not be as severe as it looks. He’s posted a 50% hard-hit rate against heaters, along with a .264 xBA and a .494 xSLG.
That suggests the fix may be more about results catching up than a wholesale overhaul.
Scott, meanwhile, has shown plenty to like. His power stuff has stood out, with strikeouts, limited exit velocity and a fastball-sweeper combination that has produced plenty of swings and misses.
But the walks remain part of the story. His 10.2% walk rate creates extra traffic, and because so many of his non-strikeout outs come in the air, that can turn into trouble fast.
A homer on top of free passes is one danger. The other is the slower, uglier version, where walks and bloopers stack up and a big inning appears out of nowhere.
If he wants to keep climbing, he’ll need better command and fewer free passes in 2027.
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