In trying times, a New York team once again turns to a Ewing to be the center of a potential turnaround.
The Mets are calling up MLB's No. 78 overall prospect A.J. Ewing on Tuesday ahead of his Major League debut, MLB.com's Anthony DiComo reported Monday.
The 21-year-old outfielder/second baseman has hit .339/.447/.514 with two homers, 17 steals and a 20/22 K/BB ratio through 30 games between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse this year. His batting average and on-base percentage rank 10th and seventh respectively among 285 Minor Leaguers with at least 130 plate appearances this season, while those 17 thefts (in 18 attempts) are tied for 16th-most in all of the Minors, regardless of playing time.
COMPLETE METS PROSPECT COVERAGE
Playing in his third Minor League season, Ewing just made his Triple-A debut on April 28 and went 15-for-46 (.326) with five walks, five strikeouts and five steals in 12 contests with Syracuse. Only four of those 15 hits went for extra bases, however, and none were homers.
The left-handed hitter burst onto the Top 100 Prospects list after a 2025 season in which he batted .315 and stole 70 bags (fifth-most in the Minors) across Single-A, High-A and Double-A. After carrying that breakout into the Major League side of Spring Training and the upper Minors over the past few weeks, Ewing was set to be the highest climber in an upcoming MLB Pipeline Top 100 update, jumping up more than 40 places and leapfrogging over Jonah Tong to become the Mets’ top prospect.
More from MLB Pipeline:
• Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage
There should be a theme many are sensing here. Ewing runs, and he hits.
The speed is perhaps the most evident part of his game. In Grapefruit League play this spring, Ewing recorded the Mets’ five fastest Sprint Speeds including three above 30 ft/sec. Such runs above that threshold are considered Bolts. The Mets, as a Major League team this regular season, only have four Bolts total in 2026, all of which belong to Luis Robert Jr., who is currently sidelined by a lumbar spine disc herniation.
Drafted as an Ohio high school infielder with the 2023 fourth-round pick the Mets gained for losing Jacob deGrom to free agency, Ewing has used those wheels to transition to the outfield, where he’s drawn impressive defensive reviews. His instincts have improved with the increased workload on the grass, and with his combination of jumps and closing speed, he could be at least a plus defender. That should be comforting news to a New York team whose center fielders are currently worth -2 Outs Above Average in 2026, tied for 26th-best in the Majors. Ahead of this promotion, Ewing saw time at all three outfield spots with Syracuse and didn’t touch the dirt at all, though he got four starts at second base with Binghamton before that.
On the offensive side, Ewing is a decidedly hit-over-power prospect who makes strong swing decisions. He doesn’t typically bite on pitches outside the zone, regardless of pitch type, and makes tons of contact when opponents do challenge him inside the zone. His in-zone contact rate at Triple-A was 90.5 percent in the small sample, a nice improvement from his 88 percent mark over the full season a year ago. Using only a slight leg lift in his load from a straight-on stance, Ewing relies on quick hands to reach all sorts of offerings and smack them into play or fight them off.
The power will be the biggest question in his expedited move to the Majors. In the Minors, Ewing has been at his best when he’s spraying line drives gap to gap and putting pressure on the defense with his speed. His exit velocities didn’t quite pop in his short time at Triple-A with a hard-hit rate of just 34.1 percent, which would rank in the 22nd percentile in the Majors. With a 108.8 mph max EV, there is something in the tank, but it’s still likely below-average power in the end.
Sitting 15-25 with the worst record in the Majors, the Mets could certainly use all the help they can get if they’re going to turn the tide of a thus far disastrous 2026. The club had been rotating fellow rookie Carson Benge and Tyrone Taylor in center field in Robert’s absence, but the latter especially hasn’t gotten going at the plate. Bringing up Ewing would enable the Mets to shift Benge back to right field -- where his plus arm is a big asset -- as part of a potentially flashy outfield that boasting Juan Soto in the other corner.
But whether this callup comes too quickly in Ewing’s development cycle remains an open question. The Mets similarly prioritized Major League need by calling up Tong after only two Triple-A starts during last year’s stretch run, and the right-hander couldn’t find consistency with a 7.71 ERA over five starts. He’s been back in Syracuse through the first two months of the season.
At least with his speed and defense, Ewing has two tools that could meaningfully help the Mets straight away, even if his impact at the plate is lacking at the start (as Benge’s was early on). Maybe with those wheels, he’s a prospect built for the fast lane anyway.
“I think he just played the game fearlessly while he was in big league camp,” Mets senior vice president of player development Andy Green said in March, “and that's what he has to do to be successful for the long term.”