Youth has been a defining part of the 2026 New York Mets season, and it’s a big reason the final stretch still has something to watch. The club is playing out the string, but the younger wave has kept things interesting, with names like Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing and Nolan McLean getting extended looks.
That said, not every young Met should be penciled in for an Opening Day job just yet. Some have flashed.
Some have had useful stretches. But before the Mets start building around them for next season, there’s still more to see.
Nick Morabito is the clearest example of a player with a defined path who still hasn’t fully earned it. He looks like a fourth or fifth outfielder, the kind of right-handed option who can cover all three spots and maybe work in a platoon with A.J.
Ewing in center field. He has delivered some loud moments lately, including big hits and eye-catching catches, but that doesn’t make him the best answer for the outfield.
The Mets also don’t have much behind him in the minors, which matters. If Morabito breaks camp, the fallback options would be minor league free-agent types.
Right now, he looks more like insurance than a player the team should be counting on. The .174 he has hit in the big leagues overall still hangs over the profile, and even the .333 average since his recall comes in a tiny sample.
The Mets’ usage suggests they aren’t completely sold either.
Zac Thornton has taken a different road. He’s easy to miss because the numbers don’t jump off the page.
His strikeout totals are low, and there’s nothing particularly flashy about the profile. Still, the results have been solid enough: a 3.53 ERA, 6 quality starts in 12 tries, and enough strike-throwing to keep him in the mix.
At the same time, plenty of his underlying work looks ordinary, from exit velocity to ground ball rate and other measures that sit close to league average. There’s reason to think the Mets may view him as more of a depth piece than a leading candidate for next year’s roster, especially if they can bring in a more established arm over the offseason.
Then there’s Jonah Tong, whose 2026 path was probably the most surprising of the group. He recently made his first start of the year and only his fourth major league appearance all season, a reminder that the Mets have treated his development very carefully.
An uneven Triple-A season kept him from moving faster. Because of that, it would be a stretch to expect him to open next year in the rotation.
If the Mets are thinking ahead, the only real reason to rush that kind of plan would be the possibility of putting him in position for PPI rewards if he wins Rookie of the Year or finishes in the top 3 of the Cy Young before arbitration. A trade remains possible too, though that may not be close.
After seeing how well Kodai Senga has done in a relief role, the Mets may prefer to keep Tong in-house a little longer before using him as a piece for a shorter-term return.
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