MLB · 2 hours ago

Why 4 New York Mets Top Prospects Are MLB-Ready for 2026

SportsGrid Contributor Just Baseball

Host · Writer

The 2026 Mets Outlook – Youth Meets Opportunity
The Mets aren’t just hoping these prospects pan out—they’re counting on them.

McLean is positioned to anchor the rotation. Benge fills immediate lineup needs. Tong provides high-upside depth, and Ross gives the bullpen a power arm that can shorten games.

After years of rebuilding from draft missteps and shallow depth, the Mets finally have a system capable of supporting sustained success. The pieces are here. The timing is right.

Now comes the most important part: letting them play.
New York Mets: A System Ready to Deliver
The New York Mets enter the 2026 season in a position they haven’t occupied in years: ready to cash in on their farm system.

After a prolonged stretch of draft misses and thin organizational depth, the Mets have quietly assembled one of the most dangerous pipelines in baseball. What once felt like a patchwork system is now stocked with legitimate, big league-ready talent across the diamond.

That transformation began when Steve Cohen took ownership in late 2020 and accelerated when David Stearns assumed control of baseball operations in late 2023. The mandate was clear—build sustainably, develop internally, and stop relying on short-term fixes.

Now, with clear positional needs and a wave of prospects knocking on the door, the timing couldn’t be better. These aren’t long-term lottery tickets. These are players who can help win games immediately.

Let’s break down the Mets' prospects most ready to impact the big league roster in 2026.

Thanks to Just Baseball for the stats, analysis, and insights for this slideshow article.
4) Dylan Ross, RHP – The Quiet Bullpen Weapon
Dylan Ross isn’t a household name, but he may end up being one of the Mets’ most useful arms in 2026.

Ross rocketed through the system in 2025, throwing 54 innings after barely pitching the year prior. He finished with a 2.17 ERA and 80 strikeouts, earning a late-season call-up even though he didn’t make his MLB debut.

His fastball lives in the upper 90s, and his splitter gives him a legitimate out pitch—an ideal combination for late-inning relief work. The one hurdle is control, as Ross walked 14.7% of hitters in 2025.

If Ross tightens the command even marginally, he has the stuff to be a high-leverage bullpen piece. With bullpen roles often in flux, he’s exactly the type of arm that can carve out a meaningful role quickly.

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3) Jonah Tong, RHP – High-Whiff Upside with Refinement Needed
Jonah Tong’s brief MLB stint in 2025 was uneven, but the broader body of work is impossible to ignore.

In the minors, Tong was electric. Over 113.2 innings, he posted a microscopic 1.43 ERA while striking out 179 hitters. That dominance forced the Mets’ hand when rotation injuries piled up late in the year.

Tong’s fastball plays above its velocity, sitting around 95 mph, thanks to deception, extension, and an extreme arm angle. His arsenal is rounded out by a splitter-style changeup and a steep curveball that tunnels effectively off the heater.

The plan for 2026 is likely patience. Tong should open the season in Triple-A Syracuse, refine his command, and serve as the first call when the Mets need rotation help.

If things click, Tong has the ceiling to be one of the most impactful rookie arms in the National League.

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2) Carson Benge, OF – Plug-and-Play Outfield Help
Carson Benge looks like a classic “break camp with the team” prospect.

The Mets enter 2026 with uncertainty in both left and center field, and Benge fits cleanly into either spot. His 2025 minor league season showed exactly why he’s so intriguing: power, speed, on-base skills, and defensive versatility.

Across three levels, Benge slashed .281/.385/.472 with 15 home runs and 22 stolen bases, proving he doesn’t need to be sheltered in development. He spent most of the year in center field, and evaluators believe he can handle the position in the majors.

The surface-level Triple-A numbers weren’t pretty, but the underlying metrics tell a different story. Elite barrel and hard-hit rates—14.1% barrel rate (96th percentile) and 53.5% hard-hit rate (97th percentile)—suggest Benge ran into poor luck rather than a skill gap.

Whether or not the Mets add a veteran outfielder, Benge is firmly on the 2026 impact path—and could be a long-term fixture in the lineup.
1) Nolan McLean, RHP – The Rotation Anchor
If there’s one prospect the Mets are building around in 2026, it’s Nolan McLean.

Widely viewed as the top pitching prospect in baseball, McLean didn’t just survive his late-2025 MLB debut—he dominated. Over eight starts, he posted a 2.06 ERA while striking out 30.3% of hitters, all while staying under the innings threshold to preserve prospect status.

McLean’s profile screams frontline starter. His sinker drives a groundball rate north of 61.1%, while his sweeper—spinning near 3,000 RPM—gives him a legitimate bat-missing weapon. It’s a rare blend of contact suppression and swing-and-miss ability.

What really separated McLean, though, was his poise. His best outing came against the Philadelphia Phillies in late August, when he threw eight scoreless innings and struck out six in a division-race atmosphere.

At 24 years old, McLean is the clear favorite to open 2026 in the Mets’ rotation—and New York will need him to stabilize a staff that lacked consistency a year ago.
The 2026 Mets Outlook – Youth Meets Opportunity
The Mets aren’t just hoping these prospects pan out—they’re counting on them.

McLean is positioned to anchor the rotation. Benge fills immediate lineup needs. Tong provides high-upside depth, and Ross gives the bullpen a power arm that can shorten games.

After years of rebuilding from draft missteps and shallow depth, the Mets finally have a system capable of supporting sustained success. The pieces are here. The timing is right.

Now comes the most important part: letting them play.
New York Mets: A System Ready to Deliver
The New York Mets enter the 2026 season in a position they haven’t occupied in years: ready to cash in on their farm system.

After a prolonged stretch of draft misses and thin organizational depth, the Mets have quietly assembled one of the most dangerous pipelines in baseball. What once felt like a patchwork system is now stocked with legitimate, big league-ready talent across the diamond.

That transformation began when Steve Cohen took ownership in late 2020 and accelerated when David Stearns assumed control of baseball operations in late 2023. The mandate was clear—build sustainably, develop internally, and stop relying on short-term fixes.

Now, with clear positional needs and a wave of prospects knocking on the door, the timing couldn’t be better. These aren’t long-term lottery tickets. These are players who can help win games immediately.

Let’s break down the Mets' prospects most ready to impact the big league roster in 2026.

Thanks to Just Baseball for the stats, analysis, and insights for this slideshow article.

Why 4 New York Mets Top Prospects Are MLB-Ready for 2026

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