Mets Opening Day is only a few days away (and depending on when you read this, it may have already happened!). We are winding down our coverage of Non-Roster Invitees trying to make the team and as expected, we are now previewing players who have already been optioned to the minors / reassigned to the minors – which is the case for today’s prospect Jake Mangum.
You’ll notice something unusual about Jake Mangum on his Baseball Reference page – Jake has been drafted three times! It is common to see baseball players drafted after high school and then at one point in their college career. Jake was drafted in 2017 (30th round) by the Yankees, 2018 (32nd round) by the Mets and 2019 (4th round) by the Mets again. MLB.com‘s prospect page clears up the reason – Jake was chasing the SEC all-time hit record. He reached his goal, collecting 383 hits over his four years at Mississippi State.
Mangum debuted in 2019 with the Cyclones (back when they were a short season team) hitting .247/.337/.297 over 210 PAs. After the pandemic stoppage in 2020, he played from Brooklyn and Binghamton in 2021. Over 368 PA’s he hit .285/.337/.454. In Binghamton he was a little over a year older than the average player in the league.
We’ve been talking a lot about Mangum’s hitting but he’s actually known for his defense. MLB.com notes that he may be “the best defender in the Mets system with enough range and arm strength to play quality center field”. He also has speed.
The issue for the Mets right now is where does he fit? The roster needs another outfielder, but the Mets are having trouble right now squeezing in Travis Jankowski. Khalil Lee, also speedy, and Nick Plummer are prospects who both already have 40-man roster spots.
That being said, considering Jake’s age and how things for the Mets generally go, we’ll probably see him at some point this season with the big league club. His defense and hitting ability have created a following on MetsTwitter. If he can add some pop this year as well then maybe he becomes a sleeper prospect.
