The New York Mets have dominated MLB’s list of Top 100 prospects for the last couple of seasons, but that’s about to end. Pitchers Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong all had successful late-season debuts, and outfielder Carson Benge is expected to join them at some point this year.
But the Mets have a new prospect most people don’t know about who’s also about to join that illustrious list. Elian Pena is a left-handed shortstop who signed for $5 million out of the Dominican Republic last January, and he’s considered a lock to join that list after his season in the Dominican Summer League.
He didn’t have success right away, though. Pena got off to a slow start, but his slash line in 51 games was .292/.421/.528 over 223 plate appearances, and Pena also added nine home runs and 21 steals, according to Stephen Parello of Rising Apple.
But the most impressive part of Pena’s performance was his plate discipline. He may be just 18, but Pena posted an identical percentage of 16.1 for both is strikeout and walk rates.
According to Parello, the best comp for Pena is shortstop Leo De Vries, the Athletics’ top prospect who is rated third in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100. De Vries came up through the San Diego Padres' system, and the Padres used the shortstop to acquire stellar reliever Mason Miller at the trade deadline last year.
Does Pena also have that kind of potential? It’s too soon to tell, but he’ll be an interesting name to track as he plays against more competition this spring and summer.
Pena’s road to the big club is currently blocked by shortstop Francisco Lindor and newly-acquired second baseman Marcus Semien, but that’s not necessarily an issue given his age. Semien is well into his thirties, and Lindor will be entering his age-32 season. Lindor is halfway through the ten-year deal he signed in 2022, so the contract timeline fits as well.
That’s actually a perfect timeline for Pena given where he is now in his development curve. The Mets’ top shortstop prospects is currently Jett Williams, but there’s been speculation that Williams could shift to the outfield based on the team’s current openings in center field and left.
Williams and Pena would make the Mets strong up the middle if they did come up together, though, which was undoubtedly part of the thought process for Mets GM David Stearns as he continues to revamp the roster.