Photo By Ernest Dove
FanGraphs ranks Mets shortstop Amed Rosario as their #3 overall 2017 prospect, behind only infielder Yoan Moncada and outfielder Andrew Benintendi.
Eric Longenhagen from FanGraphs had this to say about Rosario –
“An exceptional athlete who has become more explosive and coordinated as his body has matured, Rosario projects as a plus defender at shortstop. His recent physical maturation has also aided his offensive output, though his raw power (which was on par with all but the game’s best power-hitting prospects at the Futures Game) hasn’t shown up on paper yet. If he starts to get to it in games, and if more raw power comes as Rosario’s frame continues to mature, he’s going to be a monster. I consider him the best bet to top this list next year.”
It seems to be a general consensus among prospect-rankers that Rosario is among the Top-5, if not pretty much always the Top-3. As the Fangraphs author said, he is definitely a good bet to top this list next season. Moncada is likely to see enough time in the Bigs to strip him of Rookie status for 2018, while Benintendi might be batting third for the Red Sox all season, vying for a Rookie of the Year Award.
Rosario ranks one spot above Braves shortstop prospect Dansby Swanson, a similar prospect in that he has the same running, fielding, and throwing ratings while being a slightly less impressive hitter. It will be fun to watch those two compete in the NL East for years to come.
In 2016 with A+ St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton, Rosario hit .324/.374/.459 with five home runs, 24 doubles, 13 triples, 19 stolen bases, and 71 RBIs. So far this spring, he has gone 8-for-27 (.296).
The Mets had four other players ranked in the top 100; RHP Robert Gsellman 39th, 1B Dominic Smith 73rd, RHP Justin Dunn 77th and SS Andres Gimenez 82nd. This is the first time the 18-year old Gimenez has been ranked in the top 100 by any publication.
