5 ways to remember the Mets' 2025 farm system

The Mets’ season didn’t go how anyone in the organization would have hoped, with the reigning National League runners-up missing the postseason entirely in 2025. The recent departures of previous franchise stalwarts Pete Alonso, Edwin Díaz and Brandon Nimmo haven’t helped matters with the fanbase either, though the offseason is far from over.

But look over the horizon and there’s hope to be found. From up and down the eastern seaboard, the New York farm system brought some of the brightest notes of optimism to Queens this summer.

So here are five ways to remember '25 through the lens of Mets' Minor Leaguers:

1. Big years from Jonah Tong & Nolan McLean

Tong won the MiLB Pitching Prospect of the Year Award after leading the Minors with a 1.43 ERA and 179 strikeouts in 113⅔ innings between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse, thus becoming the first full-season qualifier to lead the Minors in both categories since MiLB restructured in 1963. His 40.5 percent K rate, 29.9 K/BB percentage, .148 average-against, 1.68 FIP and 2.16 xFIP were also best among Minor League pitchers with at least 100 frames. The 22-year-old right-hander couldn’t find the same level of dominance or consistency in the Majors, but his work in the upper Minors thrust him into Top 100 prospect status for the first time. He sits at No. 46 following MLB Pipeline’s most recent update.

He wasn’t alone in winning a MiLB award either.

McLean also opened the year outside of the Top 100 and climbed even higher to No. 11 by season’s end, thus earning Breakout Prospect of the Year honors. A two-way player as recently as 2024, the 24-year-old took off with his renewed singular focus on the bump, finishing with a 2.45 ERA and 127 strikeouts in 113⅔ innings between Double-A and Triple-A. To solidify his breakout status, he kept improving in the Majors and became the Mets’ de facto ace down the stretch, with a 2.06 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 48 frames, stopping just two innings short of graduating from prospect/rookie status.

McLean’s immense feel for spin with his big sweeper and curveball (the latter averaging 3,248 rpm in the Majors) generates headlines, but a big driver of his success is the depth of his arsenal. The former Oklahoma State star threw six distinct pitches in the bigs and didn’t use any singular offering more than 27.9 percent of the time, keeping hitters guessing on a variety of offerings that head in multiple directions.

2. The pitching department in general

Tong, McLean and fellow '25 debutant Brandon Sproat are the poster boys for Mets’ pitching development, given their quality of stuff and results, but the success goes much deeper.

Will Watson, Jack Wenninger and Jonathan Santucci took significant jumps into the the system's top 15, and Dylan Ross and Ryan Lambert looked like big-time right-handed arms that could help out in the bullpen soon. Turning '24 13th-rounder R.J. Gordon into a bona fide Top 30 prospect so quickly in his career is a sign of a healthy department.

Need numbers? Across the four full-season Minor League levels, Mets pitchers led the way with 5,329 strikeouts. If you prefer rate stats, Mets full-season pitchers also led the Minors with a 26.6 percent K rate. No other farm system struck out more than 25 percent of batters faced at Single-A, High-A, Double-A and Triple-A combined.

Other teams want in on the action too. Of the 10 prospects the Mets traded away before the Trade Deadline, eight were pitchers.

3. Double-A Binghamton, High-A Brooklyn win championships

There may have not been a postseason at the Major League level for the Mets this year, but that certainly wasn’t the case down on the farm.

Double-A Binghamton (Eastern League) and High-A Brooklyn (South Atlantic League) won their respective league championships. In doing so, the Mets joined the Tigers as the only systems with multiple Minor League titles in '25.

Binghamton finished with a 90-46 record, one of only two MiLB teams with more than 90 wins and the first Mets affiliate with that many victories since the Single-A Capital City Bombers in 1998. The Rumble Ponies’ .662 winning percentage was third-best among full-season clubs, behind Tigers High-A affiliate West Michigan (.702) and Pirates High-A affiliate Greensboro (.672). As it happened, Brooklyn swept Greensboro in the Sally League semis.

Minor League success comes with having stars, of course, so it’s no surprise that all four of the Mets’ Top 100 prospects played for Binghamton at some point in ‘25. But you don’t get wins by the bunches without admirable depth, especially as those stars are given well-earned promotions throughout the season.

“It's just the next-man mentality,” Binghamton manager Reid Brignac said in September. “We have a ton of confidence in our guys, and we want them to be confident when they go out there and pitch and play, and it's just great to see their growth.”

4. Carson Benge closes in on Big Apple

Like McLean, Benge played both ways at Oklahoma State before he went 19th overall to the Mets in the '24 Draft. Unlike Cowboy Ohtani, Benge’s best path has been at the plate/in the outfield. It’s served him quite well to this point, with the left-handed slugger reaching Triple-A in his first full season.

Benge finished with a .281/.385/.472 line, 15 homers and 22 steals in 116 games across three levels along the way. He adds above-average speed and plus arm strength (from his pitching days), and even though his overall power grades out closer to a 50 on the 20-80 scale, he could be a five-tool talent in Queens for the long haul. That helped him jump to No. 21 overall in the Top 100, and he could be an Opening Day 2026 option if the Mets don’t make significant outfield additions between now and then.

5. Breakouts from A.J. Ewing, Jacob Reimer

Jacob Reimer ranked No. 21 on the Mets’ preseason Top 30 last spring. A.J. Ewing was No. 28. Both are likely to get Top 100 consideration, if not outright inclusion, during this offseason’s update cycle.

Now sitting at No. 7 on the Top 30, Ewing had the bigger breakout in terms of pure spots climbed as he rounded into an OBP/high BABIP machine with at least plus speed and impressive defense in center field. Power might be a question out of his 5-foot-11 frame, but he checked many other boxes while climbing to Double-A in his age-20 season.

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Reimer (No. 6) battled hamstring problems in '24 that he admitted were still in the back of his mind when he did get on the field for 25 Minor League games. Fully healthy in '25, he looked like a potential power bat with 17 homers, 54 extra-base hits and a .491 slugging percentage in 122 games between High-A and Double-A. With improved bat speed, he more than doubled his previous career high for dingers without sacrificing other areas of production. His 157 wRC+ was tops among Mets Minor League qualifiers.

The ascent of both proved key in giving the Mets one of the deepest Top 10 prospect lists – and perhaps the deepest overall farm – in baseball.