Bruin Agbayani Has Unique Opportunity In AFL

Nepotism is a fact of life in MLB, but sometimes it takes some fun twists and turns. That’s definitely the case with middle infielder Bruin Agbayani, son of Benny, who was acquired from the Minnesota Twins by the New York Mets as part of the return for A.J. Minter in one of a slew of deadline deals.  

Bruin is now in the Arizona Fall League, and he’s ranked No. 28 in the Mets’ farm system. He’s also just 19, which makes him just the second-youngest player on the roster of the AFL’s Surprise team, with only Angeibel Gomez of the Kansas City Royals being younger, as he came straight from the Dominican Summer League according to a report from Sam Dykstra of MLB.com. 

The writer noted that prospects in their teens aren’t usually pushed this hard, but Agbayani had some injury issues that led to this result. He hurt his right shoulder after just ten games with Single-A Fort Myers in April and May, and the result was a 60-day stint on the injured list. 

Agbayani struggled to make the adjustment to rest and rehab, as he noted that he was just trying to “find [his] identity,” which is tough to do in any occupation at 19. He was also used to having his parents around to support him when he came out of high school in Hawaii, and obviously Benny’s unique brand of baseball support means more to him compared to that of most parents. 

The good news is that Bruin made plenty of contact during his time in Fort Myers. He’s an up-the-middle kind of hitter, and he described his approach as a “line-drive swing,” which is becoming increasingly rare in today’s game. 

But that also works against him to some extent. Teams want to see power from their prospects, and they want to see it quickly. The Mets are no exception to this, as they didn’t have anywhere near enough power at Citi Field this season. 

Will all of this work? It’s too soon to tell, quite frankly. Sometimes picks like Bruin Agbayani are intended to either appease or attract the fan base and create good vibes, and that could be the case here. 

The overall situation is that Benny Agbayani’s status as a cult figure helped Bruin get his foot in the door, and now he’ll have to make his mark on his own. He’ll always be a part of franchise lore because of what his father did, but now Bruin Agbayani has an opportunity to step up and make some memories of his own.