Ryan Clifford

Week: 5 G, 19 AB, .474/.500/1.000, 9 H, 1 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 1 BB, 4 K, 0/0 SB (Double-A)

2025 Season: 30 G, 101 AB, .248/.345/.475, 25 H, 5 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 15 BB, 37 K, 1/1 SB, .328 BABIP (Double-A)

A North Carolina native, Ryan Clifford was considered one of the better high school bats in the 2022 draft class, but his slightly older age relative to his peers coupled less-impressive-than-expected numbers in his junior and senior seasons and a commitment to Vanderbilt University caused him to fall through the cracks and drop down the board. The Mets were high on him and were considering drafting him in a high round thanks to having two first-round picks due to the 2021 Kumar Rocker situation and an additional selection in the free agent compensation round as a result of the Los Angeles Angels signing Noah Syndergaard, but were unable to make the money work with the higher-priority players they were already deciding to draft. Finally, in the 11th round, the Houston Astros selected him, the 343rd overall selection made, and signed him for a $1,256,530 signing bonus, roughly equivalent to the MLB-assigned slot values of second-round picks in the 2022 MLB Draft.

After limited time with the FCL Astros Orange and the Single-A Fayette Woodpeckers in the Carolina League that summer, Clifford began his professional career in earnest in 2023. He began the 2023 season with the Woodpeckers and spent 25 games with them before being promoted to the High-A Ashville Tourists in May. Clifford was phenomenal, hitting .337/.488/.457 in 25 games with 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 3 stolen bases, and 25 walks to 27 strikeouts. For as good as the 19-year-old was, he was just scratching the surface. In the two-and-a-half months he played with the Tourists from mid-May until the end of July, Clifford hit .271/.356/.547 in 58 games with 11 doubles, 16 home runs, 1 stolen base, and 21 walks to 61 strikeouts.

On August 1, the Mets traded Justin Verlander to the Astros and received Clifford and former Tourists teammate Drew Gilbert in return. Clifford was assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones and finished out the rest of the season there, hitting .188/.307/.376 in 32 games with 4 doubles, 6 home runs, 1 stolen base, and 18 walks to 51 strikeouts. All in all, with all three teams, he hit .262/.374/.480 with 20 doubles, 24 home runs, 5 stolen bases in 7 attempts, and 64 walks to 140 strikeouts. Clifford was one of 5 teenagers in all of minor league baseball with 20 or more home runs in 2023, and he hit the ball as hard as virtually anyone in his age group, with a 90th percentile exit velocity of 107.1 MPH. Over the winter, Amazin’ Avenue ranked Clifford 4 on the Top 25 Mets Prospects for 2024 list.

Clifford returned to the Cyclones to start the 2024 season, and while the numbers did not exactly jump off the pages, he was solidly above-average in the 31 games he played there. The 20-year-old hit .216/.412/.304 with 6 doubles and 1 home run, his power numbers suffering and his walk rate benefitting from a weak Brooklyn Cyclones lineup that made it easy to pitch around the young slugger. When he was promoted to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in mid-May, Clifford began showing off the plus power that makes him so dangerous as a hitter and capable of carrying an entire team for days at a time. Appearing in 98 games, Clifford hit .231/.359/.457 with 21 doubles, 18 home runs, 3 stolen bases, and 63 walks to 117 strikeouts. On the whole, he hit a combined .228/.372/.432 in 129 games on the season with 27 doubles, 19 home runs, 4 stolen bases, and 95 walks to 160 strikeouts. His walk total led the minor league system, while his home run and strikeout total both placed him in third. After the season ended, Amazin’ Avenue ranked Clifford 7 on the Top 25 Mets Prospects for 2025 list.

At the plate, the 6’3”, 200-pound Clifford stands square, holding his hands at his head and angling his bat head at 10:00. He swings with a slight kick/toe tap without much of a load or weight transfer. His left-handed stroke is smooth, efficient, and quick, producing light tower power, but it is also long and inefficient against pitches in the upper half of the zone and pitches with premium velocity. While the raw power is easily plus, the swing-and-miss issues will make it difficult to fully tap into barring mechanical changes.

He does have an advanced approach at the plate as compared to most other players his age, making smart swing decisions, working counts and focusing on pitches he can drive, but many of the walks he drew in the lower levels of the minor leagues were from facing pitchers with either no interest in facing him head on, or were from pitchers with poor command. For this reason, Clifford can sometimes be too passive at the plate when pitchers do not show pinpoint control, working himself into unfavorable counts by coming up to the plate with the intention of not swinging at anything questionable or borderline.

Defensively, Clifford provides little value at any of the positions that he’s played. In the outfield, he is a net neutral fielder, buoyed by his strong arm. His speed is fringy at best and based on his body type, as he ages he will likely lose additional athleticism and range. His read of the ball off the bat and the routes that he takes in the field are both suboptimal, and more work needs to be put in to improve both. His work at first base is also not great, and he needs to improve his receiving abilities and his reactions to quick plays.

Jonah Tong

Week: 1 G, (1 GS), 6.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 13 K (Double-A)

2025 Season: 6 G (6 GS), 28.0 IP, 16 H, 9 R, 8 ER (2.57 ERA), 14 BB, 51 K, .319 BABIP (Double-A)

Jonah Tong combined to throw the first perfect game in Binghamton Rumble Ponies franchise history along with TJ Shook. The right-hander went 6.2 innings of the double-header adjusted 7 inning game, getting pulled by manager Reid Brignac after reaching 99 pitches. In the postgame interview, he stated that he understood the decision and that it is better to think of the long term, but man…That must’ve been a terrible decision for Brignac to make and for Tong to hear.

Tong was ranked 4 on Amazin’ Avenue’s Top 25 Prospects for 2025 list, and the right-hander has more than justified his placement on the list with his performance so far this season. His 51 strikeouts lead not just the Mets minor league system, but the entire Eastern League. His 2.57 ERA is fifth in the Mets minor league system and sixth in the Eastern League among pitchers with 20.0 IP or more, and his 44.7% Whiff Rate is best in both the system and the league.

The 22-year-old came into the season ranked 4th on the Amazin’ Avenue Top 25 Mets Prospects for 2025 list, with Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams, and Carson Benge. With Sproat continuing to struggle in Triple-A Syracuse, the argue can be made that, if nothing else, Tong is the best pitching prospect in the Mets farm system. Nolan McLean, who was ranked right behind Tong at 5th can also make the case, but regardless, Tong had a ton of helium coming into the season and his performance so far this season is highlighting that his trajectory is still continuing upward and onward.

Players of the Week 2025

Week One/Two (March 28-April 6): Joey Meneses/Zach Thornton

Week Three (April 8-April 13): A.J. Ewing/Zach Thornton

Week Four (April 15-April 20): A.J. Ewing/Zach Thornton

Week Five (April 22-April 27): Jon Singleton/Jonah Tong

Week Six (April 29-May 5): Jacob Reimer: Felipe De La Cruz