Minor League Mondays: Nick Morabito Is Swinging A Good Bat in Binghamton

The New York Mets have had some disappointing returns from their top offensive prospects of late. LuisAngel Acuna, Brett Baty and Ronny Mauricio have struggled at the big league level while Drew Gilbert hasn't hit enough in AAA to force his way to the majors. There is some hope for the future, however, as the wave of young players behind them has been red hot this season. One underrated guy to keep an eye on is outfielder Nick Morabito, who is the focus of this week's edition of Minor League Mondays.

Nick Morabito has been productive for AA Binghamton.

Morabito, 22, was a second round pick in 2022 as compensation for the Mets losing Noah Syndergaard to the Angels. There was a long development road for Morabito, who played at Gonzaga Senior High School in Washington, D.C, and he has rewarded the Mets' patience by displaying some strong bat-to-ball skills over the past three years.

After hitting .306 between rookie ball and Low-A St. Lucie in 2023, Morabito torched the baseball early in 2024 for St. Lucie, hitting .397 in 24 games to earn a promotion to High-A Brooklyn. Coney Island was Morabito's home for the rest of the 2024 campaign and he hit well there, batting .294 with a whopping 48 stolen bases to convince the Mets to have him begin 2025 in AA Binghamton. The Eastern League hasn't been too much of a challenge for Morabito, who is hitting .296 with three home runs, 38 RBI, 31 stolen bases and 44 runs scored in 69 games for the Rumble Ponies. Morabito also made headlines over the weekend by delivering a walk-off single to help Binghamton score a win on Saturday.

While power is not a real strong suit of Morabito's game, he has a big league skill set with his elite speed (a 70 grade on the 20-80 scale) and hitting ability. While Morabito was a shortstop in high school, the Mets have had him work in center field as a pro, and he is improving defensively on a regular basis.

The question for Morabito long term is if he can hit more line drives, which would allow him to use his speed to produce extra base hits. Morabito had a 55 percent ground ball rate in 2024, which is too high for a potential starter, and anything like that at the big league level would turn him into a fourth outfielder.

If the Mets can help Morabito deliver more line drives he could give them a chance to make up for their choice of trading away Jake Mangum to the Rays. Mangum had a similar skill set and was viewed as expendable for the Mets but Tampa Bay has turned him into a good regular option, something that the Mets should strive for with Morabito going forward.

Expect the Mets to let Morabito spend the summer in Binghamton with the potential of a cameo at AAA Syracuse if he keeps hitting. Morabito figures to be on the Mets' radar as a potential bench option at some point in 2026, although if he can produce more line drives he could have a chance to grab a hold of center field at the major league level before hard-charging Carson Benge comes behind him.