Like father, like son: Bruin Agbayani's journey toward Queens stops in the Arizona Fall League
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Benny Agbayani only played parts of four seasons with the Mets, but for any fan who saw his rise in 1999 or his walk-off homer in NLDS Game 3 against the Giants a year later, he had the impact of someone who played in Queens three times as long.
So when the Mets acquired another Agbayani -- Benny’s son, Bruin -- from the Twins as part of the return for AJ Minter, it created quite a reaction across the baseball world, starting with the man himself.
"I called my dad first,” the younger Agbayani said. "He couldn't believe me. He was saying like, no way, no way. I was like, 'Dad, it's true.'"
Now Bruin Agbayani is about to take a significant step in his own development in the Mets' system with an assignment to the Arizona Fall League.
Ranked as New York's No. 28 prospect, the 19-year-old middle infielder is the second-youngest player on the Surprise roster this autumn, older than only Angeibel Gomez (KC No. 2/MLB No. 76), who is coming straight from the Dominican Summer League. Normally teenaged prospects aren’t pushed this aggressively to the desert, but it wasn’t a normal first full season for the left-handed slugger taken in the sixth round of last year’s Draft out of the Hawaii high-school ranks.
Agbayani hurt his right shoulder after only 10 games with Single-A Fort Myers in April and May and was on the 60-day injured list when the trade went down. The necessary rest and rehab were tough pills to swallow for a teenager just entering pro ball.
“It was tough,” he said. “I was trying to just find my identity, trying to find who I am as a baseball player and who I am as just a person in life. It was super tough just because it was the first time I've ever been far from my parents. Being without them and not having that love and support that they always have in person. … It's good over the phone, but you want that love and support right there, right in front of you.”
Agbayani could take some comfort in the fact that he showed promise to the Mets and all others watching in that small 10-game sample in the Florida State League. Namely, he made a ton of contact, particularly in the zone, where 96.7 percent of his swings got the bat on the ball. He struck out only three times in 51 plate appearances before the injury.
“Just keep it simple,” Agbayani said. “When I'm up at the plate, I think about hitting it right back at the pitcher's head. That's the best place for me to have that swing, and my swing path is just a line-drive swing. … Line drives will turn into home runs.”
That last note will be one to watch as the younger Agbayani still has something to prove in the power department. He’s yet to homer in the Minors (including a three-game run with Single-A St. Lucie once he was healthy after the trade), and his exit velocities were on the low side in the FSL. The Mets have already worked on getting his swing closer to where it was at the 2025 Draft Combine, when he launched a triple to Chase Field’s right-center in the High School Showcase game.
Because he was born six years after his father’s final season with New York in 2001, Bruin Agbayani can only witness his father’s best moments through recollections or by watching video highlights. But now he has a chance to make his own for his dad to witness.
“It was a dream come true, I have to say,” Bruin said.
Mets hitters in the Fall League
Cole Mathis, 1B/3B (No. 13): Before their Trade Deadline frenzy, the Mets made Mathis their first big prospect acquisition by picking him up from the Cubs for David Peterson. The 2024 second-rounder underwent Tommy John surgery shortly after signing with Chicago and played only 13 games with New York affiliates. But before the deal, Mathis showed he was capable of making the most of his average raw power with good lift-and-pull tendencies. He has experience at both corner infield spots but looks headed to the cold corner long term.
Boston Baro, INF: A former Top 30 prospect, Baro opened the season on the 60-day injured list with a right shoulder injury, returned for two rehab games in the Florida Complex League in May and didn’t play again for Single-A St. Lucie until August. The 2023 eighth-rounder earned above-average grades for his speed, arm and fielding ability on the dirt before the season began, but his overall offensive impact was in question. While Baro made tons of contact in his brief period late in the summer, those questions remain open after all the missed time heading into the Fall League.
Mets pitchers in the Fall League
Irving Cota, RHP: Signed for $10,000 as a 19-year-old out of Mexico in April 2023, Cota has thrown more than 46 innings in a Minor League season only once, and that came in 2025 when he posted 98⅔ across Single-A, High-A and Double-A in a breakout year. Now coming up on Rule 5 eligibility, he’s looking to build on only 31⅓ frames from this season with Surprise. Throwing from a low three-quarters release, Cota has a mid-90s sinker and an upper-80s changeup that both generate huge amounts of armside run, but despite the movement, he’s generally posted impressive walk rates throughout his young career.
Brendan Girton, RHP: Another former Top 30 prospect in the preseason, Girton opened 2026 with a 6.71 ERA in his first 15 starts for Binghamton. He was consequently moved to the bullpen in early July and saw improvement in that role by the end of the month with a 4.50 ERA and 13 strikeouts in his final 14 appearances (14 innings). Girton’s four-seamer can come with some cut action to it, but it sat only 91-92 mph in his AFL debut last Saturday. He can also flash a mid-80s slider.
Ryan Lambert, RHP: Lambert was expected to contend for a spot in the Mets’ Major League bullpen this summer, but health and control issues (28 walks in 25⅔ innings at Triple-A Syracuse) kept that from happening. The 24-year-old right-hander can still throw heat with a cut-ride fastball that topped out at 98.9 mph in his first Saguaros outing on Oct. 3, but he needs to find the zone more consistently (beginning this fall) to find himself back under consideration for a big league relief role in ‘27.
Peyton Prescott, RHP: Prescott touched triple digits out of the Florida State bullpen in the spring of 2025 but tore the UCL in his right elbow and needed Tommy John surgery. The Mets took him in the fifth round anyway, believing it could be a buy-low opportunity on an electric arm. Prescott finally made his organizational debut with one inning for Single-A St. Lucie, sitting between 94.5 and 96.5 mph with that four-seamer while sprinkling in cutters, sliders, changeups and curveballs over the 18-pitch outing. (He was back up to 95.3 mph in his AFL debut on Oct. 3 and showed a similar mix.) The slider and changeup were both whiff-heavy options as an amateur, but the biggest thing for Prescott will be just establishing a broader foundation of innings heading into his second full season.
Calvin Ziegler, RHP: Ziegler pitched a scoreless inning for the Saguaros in his AFL debut on Oct. 4, needing only eight pitches (five strikes) to do it. The big news was that he was on the mound in a game at all. The 2021 second-rounder has dealt with surgery to address bone spurs in his elbow, a torn quad during that rehab and later Tommy John surgery, and all those injuries limited him to 67 total innings in the five-plus years since he was drafted. Ziegler sat 94-95 mph with his fastball in his Fall League bow and has earned positive reviews for his breaking balls in the past but needs to improve his control after walking 24 in 13⅓ innings of limited Minor League action this summer.