The Mets have added three top prospects to their player pool, sending catcher Francisco Alvarez, RHP Matthew Allan, and shortstop Ronny Mauricio to their Alternate Training Site in Brooklyn over the weekend.
Alvarez, 18, is the team's No. 2 prospect according to MLB.com, and was a consensus Top 100 prospect entering 2020. He spent his rookie year in Rookie ball, hitting .312 in 42 games between the Gulf Coast League and Advanced Rookie-level Kingsport.
Allan, 19, was the Mets' third-round pick last year and ranks as their No. 5 overall prospect according to MLB.com. The righty also spent most of his first pro summer in Rookie ball, throwing 8 1/3 innings over five outings in the Gulf Coast League before a two-inning cameo at Brooklyn.
"Adding those two guys, it kind of gives us that balance in our depth; adding the arm, adding the catcher, two of our biggest prospects," manager Luis Rojas said. "For them to come in and be in an environment when there's competition at a great level -- we have some great veterans, guys with experience at that site, and they can have that competition created there for their development."
Mauricio, 19, is the team's top prospect (as well as a consensus mid-Top 100 talent), and was added on Sunday after the previous two had been added Saturday. The shortstop, who is seen as a five-tool prospect, split 2018 between the GCL and Kingsport but spent 2019 at Low-A Columbia, hitting .268 with four homers and 37 RBI as one of the youngest players in the South Atlantic League.
The additions raised the eyebrows of astute Mets fans who know that being added to the 60-man pool means the prospects are eligible to be traded ahead of the Aug. 31 deadline, even though MLB's rules for 2020 stipulate that anyone in the system can be dealt, but have to be a "player to be named later" until the season ends.
In this case, though, Rojas says that the additions are simply an evolution of the ebb and flow of the season, and designed to get three of the franchise's top prospects some structured development time.
"We created the pool with a lot of guys that have Major League experience," Rojas said. "It's a built-to-win team; that was the theme that the whole pool was made of. As we move forward and we have some of that room, we can definitely make decisions like this and bring some other guys to take advantage of the situation. Those guys added to the pool, they can definitely help us win games, too, so it's a win-win."
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
Follow WFAN on Social MediaTwitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
