Now ranked as the number one prospect in the organization, Ronny Mauricio signed with the New York Mets in July, 2017 as an international free agent with a hefty check for $2.1M at the young age of 16 years old. The now 18 year old switch hitting shortstop will not have it easy, and I mean this in regards to his journey to the big leagues with the two shortstops that stand in front of him in the depth chart. However, even with Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez positioned in the way, Mauricio may be the better player of the tremendously talented trio.

Standing tall at 6’3″, you would expect Ronny Mauricio to have a lot of moving parts in his swing, however, this isn’t the case. The Dominican native has a very smooth stroke and an extremely good eye at the dish while he continues to give opposing pitchers a tough time, as he always seems to put together a quality at-bat.

He currently has more pop while batting against right handed pitching but as he continues to age, mature, and add muscle, I expect that his righty/lefty approach will develop into a more similar technique. Scouts suggest that Mauricio should hit for average as well for power due to his electric bat speed.

Defensively, Mauricio has very soft hands to go along with a cannon for an arm however he needs some work on his footwork, besides that, he’s above average across the board. He might quite possibly be better suited for 3rd base as time goes on but should also rank as an above average shortstop.

While catching Francisco Lindor and Manny Machado comparisons by scouts and my peer bloggers, Mauricio still has some ways to go till he’s Major League ready. However, expect to hear Mauricio’s name a lot. Whether it be by Minor League experts, the SNY booth, bloggers, and radio personalities, his name is going to come up often in the next two years.

The San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic native finished the 2019 campaign with a slash line of .268/.307/.357/.665 while hitting 20 doubles, five triples, four home runs. Mauricio also crossed the plate and scored 62 runs as well as driving in 37 RBI’s while swiping six bags.

While these numbers aren’t overwhelming at the very least, the infielder still earned his way into All-Star Game in the South Atlantic League as well as ranks as the top 80th prospect throughout all of Major League Baseball. He’s expected to make his Major League debut at some point during the 2022 campaign.

If Brodie Van Wagenen and the Mets plan to make a big splash on the Trade Market, every General Manager and front office will want and ask for Mauricio as a return piece, understandably so.

Also read: #MetsCrushMonday: Andres Gimenez