The faster prospect: Ewing or Morabito? Don't ask them -- 'We're both pretty fast'

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Over the offseason, when Mets prospects A.J. Ewing and Nick Morabito lived and worked out together in Tampa, Fla., the subject of their speed naturally became a topic of conversation.

“He swore he was faster,” Ewing said with a smile. “I swore I was faster. So we don’t know.”

Since the two have never raced, this remains fodder for debate. The evidence in Ewing’s favor is that he ranked fifth in the Minors last season with 70 stolen bases, by far the most of anyone in the Mets’ organization. Base stealing is about more than just speed, of course, and Ewing also featured some of the finest instincts and footwork in the Minors. That allowed him to be caught merely 11 times.

Compare that to Morabito, who swiped a not-too-shabby 49 bags in 60 attempts. When the two work out together in the weight room, Morabito routinely beats Ewing in “jump-offs,” using force plates to determine the results. Last year, MLB Pipeline ranked Morabito the slightly faster player. This year, they’re both listed with elite 70-grade speed.

“I don’t know, we’re both pretty fast,” Morabito said. “He did have 70 steals last year. I just hope we both get as many steals as possible. That’s my answer.”

In Thursday’s 2-0 Spring Breakout loss to Rays prospects, Ewing and Morabito both started in the outfield, with Ewing lacing a single up the middle in his first at-bat. He promptly drew a pickoff throw. Three innings later, Morabito reached on a throwing error that his legs helped make happen.

The organization’s fourth-ranked prospect, Ewing possesses a high ceiling as an everyday player given his speed and proclivity for reaching base; over 124 games split amongst three Minor League levels last season, Ewing produced a .401 OBP. Most scouts now consider him the Mets’ best position-player prospect outside of Carson Benge, with one rival evaluator going as far as to predict that Ewing would end up the better player.

While Morabito, the Mets’ 13th-ranked prospect, isn’t quite at that level, he supplemented his speed with a .348 on-base percentage at Double-A Binghamton. That, combined with a standout showing in the Arizona Fall League (including 16 steals in 17 games), was enough to land Morabito a 40-man roster spot over the offseason.

Both prospects spent a significant chunk of this spring in big league camp, until Morabito left to play a bench role for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. (The highlight, he said, was chugging three or four half-cups of espresso per game.) Ewing stuck around longer, batting .381 over 10 Grapefruit League games while -- of course -- leading the team in stolen bases with four.

“It’s a huge part of both their games,” Mets senior vice president of player development Andy Green said. “Nick … he can really run. And A.J.’s right there with him. They both turned it into a lot of stolen bases last year.”

For now, both will begin this season back in the upper Minors, allowing them to crack the Majors potentially as soon as late this season. (Playoff pinch-runner, anyone?) Longer-term, Ewing looks like a possible leadoff man at the highest level, capable of posting gaudy on-base percentages and using his skill set to steal dozens of bags. Morabito profiles as more of a fourth outfielder, with a chance to exceed that projection if his offensive game improves.

As they climb the ladder together, their speed should remain a topic of conversation. Neither was a standout runner in his youth, with Morabito going as far as to hire speed coaches to put him through hours of sprints, hurdles and weighted runs. Ewing ran track and played football in hopes of becoming even more of a speedster. It worked; by senior year, he was one of the fastest track athletes in his conference.

As for who’s faster now, consider this a friendly competition without a clear answer.

“We both want to steal as many as possible,” Morabito said.

“We take a lot of pride in it,” added Ewing. “I feel like it’s kind of a fire starter for the team, get on base, steal a base, it just kind of fires them up. It’s one base closer to home plate.”