These Mets Prospects Made Biggest Jump This Season

Coming into this season, there was little doubt about which New York Mets prospects had made the biggest jump back in 2025. Starter Nolan McLean and outfielders Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing were the consensus choices, at least at the upper levels of the Mets system, and all three became key contributors season. 

Going into 2026, it’s a little murkier. There are prospects who made big jumps but they included several risers who aren’t exactly household names, even among Mets fans. Jorge Eckardt of MetsMerizedOnline com did an illuminating piece on this, so let’s see who popped and why.

Jonathan Santucci, LHP

Here’s the one name Mets fans will recognize. Indeed, it’s hard not to, given that Santucci led the minors in strikeouts, as he racked up 163 in just 125 innings. 

Unfortunately, Santucci’s path Citi Field isn’t as clear as it was for, say, McLean last year. He had control problems and an ERA of just over four, and he got hit hard in his first few outings after making the jump to Triple-A. 

Santucci will get the call when the Mets need a starter from Triple-A, but the left-hander walked 5.5 hiters per nine innings at that level. His secondary stuff remains a concern as well, so his full arrival could be an ongoing work in progress.  

David Hurtado, LHP

The reliever had one of the best seasons among all minor leaguers, per Eckardt, as he threw 86 innings at High-A and posted a 2.93 ERA to go with a 1.03 WHIP. He struck out a batter per inning and had one of the best walk rates in the organization, which is rare at that level. Hurtado throws in the mid-90s and gets a lot of ground balls, and that’s a great formula for success, so it will be interesting to see how he does at the next level next year. 

Garrett Stratton, RHP 

Stratton is the reliever in this group, and he was nearly the Mr. Irrelevant of last year’s MLB Draft, as he was taken next-to-last out of Rice University. He dominated at High-A, then did the same thing at Double-A, which earned him a Triple-A cameo to start the year. His stats include a 2.51 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 64-2/3 innings with a 32.8 percent strikeout rate and 7.5 percent walk rate. His curveball is already a plus pitch that he uses to get outs, which should sound familiar to McLean fans.