2017 Acquisition: Ronny Mauricio, SS
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 4/4/2001 (16)
2017 teams/levels played for: none
2017 Stats: none
Info: Mauricio received the New York Mets’ record for an international signee, getting $2.1 million in signing bonus in July. Many felt Mauricio was the best prospect on the market, but he had been pushed into too many showcases and was dragging in a number of them for scouts, causing him to fall behind other top names on the July 2nd rankings.
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The Mets hope that this over-exposure works out to their gain in the long-run. Mauricio has a well developed skill set that has allowed him to handle shortstop in spite of a lack of speed. His natural instincts serve him well at this point, but as he fills into his 6’2″ frame and possibly grows even more, he’ll likely need to move to third or an outfield position. Even without the speed, however, his knack for the game should allow him to be an above average defender.
Offensively, Mauricio profiles as a player that should fill into plus power with an opportunity to also have above-average contact ability at the plate. His baseball instincts on the field carry over to the plate, where he’s shown surprisingly good idea of the strike zone for a teenager.
Mauricio is obviously very far off, but with the high ceiling of talent that he has, the need the Mets have at 3rd base all along the system depth, and his advanced underlying skills, there will be temptation to rush him, something the New York Mets have been guilty of in the past with top prospects.
Hopefully the Mets let Mauricio’s play determine his pace of ascension up the system, starting with a likely assignment to the Gulf Coast League in 2018 to open his pro career.
So that is the New York Mets top 10 prospects for 2018. Who is too high? Too low? Missing entirely from the list? Comment below!!