This 5-foot-6 prospect is slugging his way up the Mets' ranks

PITTSBURGH -- Double-A Binghamton’s leadoff hitter stands 5-foot-6, is a former 13th-round Draft pick and does not rank among MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Mets prospects. But as Mets farm director Kevin Howard put it recently, “Slowly, he’s opening everybody’s eyes as one of the better outfield prospects in our organization.”

Over his first 50 games, Matt Rudick has batted .304/.447/.526 with nine home runs, 11 doubles, 11 stolen bases and 43 runs scored -- the latter figure one of the highest totals in all of Double-A. He has walked nine more times than he has struck out.

Rudick’s hot April quickly turned into an even hotter May, and with two homers over his last four games, he’s already doing more of the same in June.

“He’s had an incredibly hot start, but it’s not just the hot start,” Howard said. “His at-bats look more controlled. He’s just a really tough, pesky out. He’s got a knack for the barrel, and he doesn’t swing and miss, which is typically the trait that you see out of guys that do get up to the big leagues and have success.”

Due to his lack of prospect pedigree, Rudick will need to continue playing near-spotless baseball to work his way up the ladder, much as former 12th-round Draft pick Jeff McNeil did last decade. That’s not to compare Rudick with McNeil, even if their histories as contact-oriented, low-drafted collegiate Californians make it an irresistible comp. Also like McNeil, Rudick is a versatile athlete, capable of playing all three outfield positions.

But Rudick is, in many ways, a unique prospect.

“He’s great on defense. He’s great on the bases. He’s just a really good player that doesn’t start to stand out until you start watching him play every day,” Howard said. “So he’s been the biggest pleasant surprise at the upper levels.”

Triple-A Syracuse
Despite an unnerving dustup at second base last week, Ronny Mauricio managed to avoid the worst. All told, Mauricio missed only two games with a sore left ankle suffered when Cody Wilson slid into him on a stolen-base attempt last Sunday. The Mets’ fourth-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline returned to the lineup on Thursday.

Although the Mets could have considered calling up Mauricio when Pete Alonso landed on the injured list earlier this week, several reasons existed for the club to remain patient. One was the uncertainty over Mauricio’s injury. Another was his potential lack of playing time in the Majors, even with Alonso absent. Yet another was the Mets’ desire to give Mauricio continued reps at second base and in left field, which could be future homes for him.

Ultimately, the Mets see Mauricio progressing as an everyday player who mans different positions multiple times per week -- someone in the mold of Ben Zobrist or Kiké Hernández.

“We want to see how that athleticism can play in the outfield,” general manager Billy Eppler said recently. “He’s excited about it. He just wants to do whatever he can do. The more versatility, the more tools in his toolbelt, the better for him and his career, the better for the Mets.”

Double-A Binghamton
What more is there to say about Mike Vasil? The Eastern League Pitcher of the Month for May thanks to a 2.52 ERA over four starts, Vasil opened June with five more innings of one-run ball against Altoona. One scout who recently watched Vasil throw called him the Mets’ best starting pitching prospect, despite the right-hander’s MLB Pipeline ranking on the club (No. 8) putting him behind Blade Tidwell, Dominic Hamel and Calvin Ziegler.

That could change by midseason, as could Vasil’s mailing address. A 23-year-old with collegiate, Cape Cod League and Arizona Fall League experience, Vasil figures to graduate to Syracuse at some point this summer.

High-A Brooklyn
Another starting pitching prospect with helium is right-hander Christian Scott, whom the Mets actually selected three rounds earlier than Vasil in the 2021 Draft. The fifth-rounder struck out nine batters over five shutout innings in his most recent outing, lowering his ERA to 0.50 over his past four starts. During that stretch, Scott has 22 strikeouts and three walks in 18 innings.

Currently ranked 27th on MLB Pipeline’s list of Mets top prospects, Scott could rise rapidly if his success continues.

Single-A St. Lucie
As recently as May 24, Layonel Ovalles was sitting on a 6.56 ERA. He has since fired 11 consecutive scoreless innings to show the St. Lucie Mets why he’s the organization’s 13th-ranked prospect. Those numbers include 14 strikeouts, two walks and just four hits against Ovalles, a 19-year-old from the Dominican Republic.