Mets Catching Prospect Noted For His Fast Start As A Pro

The New York Mets don’t have a lot of catching depth in their farm system, which is just one reason to watch Ryan Tayman as he starts his pro career. He was just selected by Jacob Rudner of Baseball America as one of ten later-round picks to watch based on his fast start as a pro. 

Tayman played his college ball at Cal Poly, and Rudner described him as one of the heroes of the college’s first-ever super regional team in 2026. He’s turning that into a great pro debut with an outstanding slash line of .315/.422/.548 with four home runs, five doubles and 11 walks against 15 strikeouts over his first 20 games so far for Single-A St. Lucie. 

The catcher has started 17 of those games behind the plate, and he’s  thrown out eight runners against 30 successful steals, which is good for a 21 percent caught-stealing rate.

He does still have his warts, though, per Rudman. He had a tendency to be overly aggressive on pitches outside the zone in college, and Tayman still has a significant swing-and-miss problem. But the catcher has rarely missed pitches within the strike zone, and he’s been able to limit his overall chase to 20.8 percent, which is down from his spring number.  

Tayman has also produced above-average exit velocities, although Rudman noted that he can be passive against hittable offerings and will need to continue to refine his swing decisions. 

Nearly all of that is par for the course so far, though, and Tayman has also looked solid behind the plate right out of the gate. He was selected in the ninth round by the Mets, and his signing bonus was just over $200K. 

His draft report noted that his game is built around impact, and Tayman can make loud contact and drive balls to the pull side. He’s an aggressive hitter, and the catcher’s hitting profile makes him especially stand out at his position. 

The Mets could be making a change at catcher at the top level, as Francisco Alvarez hasn’t proven to be the star the Mets were hoping he’d be. Alvarez has power to spare, but he’s very erratic when it comes to chasing vs. making good swing decisions. 

His defense is also uneven, and the Mets could decide to move on from him, especially since they signed savvy veteran Luis Torrens to an extension during the season for more money than backup catchers typically make.