McLean Leads Six Mets Prospects in Baseball America’s Top 100
On Wednesday January 21, 2026, Baseball America released their updated top-100 prospect rankings. Six Mets sit in these top 100:
- 8th – Starting Pitcher, Nolan McLean
- 19th – Outfielder, Carson Benge
- 44th – Starting Pitcher, Jonah Tong
- 71st – Shortstop, Jett Williams
- 81st – Starting Pitcher, Brandon Sproat
- 83rd – Outfielder, A.J. Ewing
No. 8 – Starting Pitcher, Nolan McLean
McLean ended two innings shy of graduating prospect status last season when he pitched to a 2.06 ERA across 48 innings pitched in the majors, which will allow him to retain his prospect promotion incentive eligibility. After an overhaul in late July 2025, which involved revamping his pitch shapes, release points, and pitch usage, McLean has established himself as one of the best pitching prospects in baseball. Baseball America grades him with a 70 sweeper, 60 fastball, 60 curveball, 60 slider and 55 changeup. He is able to command all of his pitches, making it difficult for batters to predict what pitch he will throw next.
McLean is expected to join the Mets’ rotation on opening day.
No. 19 – Outfielder, Carson Benge
Carson Benge dominated High-A and Double-A in 2025 and while the results were not there in Triple-A – which included missing time after getting hit on the hand with a pitch – everything under the hood looked exactly the same as it did in Double-A. In the minors in 2025, he slashed .281/.385/.472/.857. With the recent Mets trade for Luis Robert Jr., Benge will likely see the bulk of his time in the majors in 2026 in left field, but he is fully capable of playing center field. He is a five-tool player, and Baseball America grades him with a 60 grade hit tool, 55 power, 50 run, 55 field, and a 65 arm.
President of baseball operations David Stearns stated that Benge will be invited to spring training and will have every opportunity to win a spot in the opening day lineup. Benge is expected to be prospect promotion incentive eligible and will need to be on the major league roster for 172 days in 2026 to keep that eligibility.
No. 44 – Starting Pitcher, Jonah Tong
Jonah Tong dominated the minors and was named Baseball America’s Minor League pitcher of the Year. Tong pitched to a 1.43 ERA across 113.2 innings pitched with a 40.5% strikeout rate. He struggled in his 18.2 innings in the majors with a 7.71 ERA, but most of that came from two bad outings against the Rangers and Cubs where he gave up 11 runs in 2.2 innings pitched. His other 16 innings pitched he threw to a 2.81 ERA with a 31.3% strikeout rate.
Tong is a high ceiling pitcher who throws from a unique arm slot with some of the highest vertical ride in the majors on his fastball at over 19 iBV. He predominantly throws his fastball and changeup, both of which Baseball America grades as 65, but he did begin to work on a curveball (45) and a slider (40). Those pitches may be the key to him taking the next step in the majors.
Tong is also expected to be prospect promotion incentive eligible.
No. 71 – Shortstop Jett Williams
This is Jett’s fourth time on Baseball America’s top 100 lists, previously placed in 2023, 2024, and 2025. He has spent the majority of his time at shortstop but has mixed in second base and center field as well. Last year in the minors, he slashed .261/.363/.465/.828. He struggled in his 34 Triple-A games and is likely to start the 2026 season there. He does everything well without having any true carrying tools. Baseball America logs him with a 55 hit tool, 45 power, 65 run, 50 field, and 60 arm. If he can refine that hit tool and truly be able to utilize his speed on the base paths, he could provide a versatile tool for the 2026 Mets.
Jett is also expected to be prospect promotion incentive eligible.
Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
No. 81 – Starting Pitcher, Brandon Sproat
Brandon Sproat’s time in Triple-A was split between two very different halves. Going into his final start of June, Sproat was pitching to a 5.95 ERA across 62 innings pitched. He completely overhauled what he was doing on the mound and fired off 23 scoreless innings across his next four starts, starting on June 28th. Across his last 59 innings before his call-up, he pitched to a 2.44 ERA. In the majors, he threw 20.2 innings to a 4.79 ERA and 1.21 WHIP.
Sproat’s late June overhaul included raising his arm angle three degrees, which helped him be more consistent with his fastball velocity, increasing his curveball usage against left-handed hitters, and tunneling his changeup and sinker more. This spiked his whiff rate from 22% to 29.3% across his pitches. Baseball America grades him with 60 slider, 60 changeup, 55 curveball and 50 fastball.
It is unclear if Sproat will be prospect promotion incentive eligible.
No. 83 – Outfielder, A.J. Ewing
Ewing has become one of the Met’s hottest helium prospects in their farm system. In the minors in 2025, he reached Double-A and across Low-A, High-A, and Double-A, Ewing slashed .315/.401/.429/.830. Baseball America grades him with 60 hit, 40 power, 65 run, 55 field, and 55 arm. He looks to be an above-average center fielder, with some outlets describing him as potentially a plus defender, and he has shown traits that suggest he can be an above-average second baseman as well.
Ewing’s zone contact rates skyrocketed in 2025, his line drive rate jumped 10% and his swinging strike rate fell from 12% to 9%. He makes plus swing decisions, but his spray chart may limit his power output more than expected from his exit velocities, leading to a contact over power approach.
It is unclear if Ewing will be prospect promotion incentive eligible.
1B/OF Ryan Clifford was mentioned in BA’s article on the top 20 players who just missed. Corner infielder Jacob Reimer was not mentioned at all by BA.
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