Ryan Clifford

Clifford may sit against lefties and probably won't hit for a high batting average, but he's one of the best power-hitting prospects in the upper levels of the minors. The lefty slugger, who is capable of playing the outfield corners and first base, logged a 136 wRC+, .225 ISO and 18 home runs in 98 games at Double-A in 2024, but the Mets sent him back there for another 105 games in 2025 as he worked on cutting his strikeouts. Clifford upped his contact rate from 68.9 percent to 74.7 percent and got to even more power, hitting 24 homers with a .251 ISO before getting promoted to Triple-A on Aug. 11. He only hit .219 with five homers in 34 games at Triple-A, but everything was sparkling under the hood: 53.1 HardHit%, 35.8 GB%, 3.0 IFFB%, 22.9 O-Swing%, 10.4 SwStr%. Clifford isn't on the 40-man roster, but he doesn't have much to prove at Triple-A, so he could get the call as early as the first half if he's performing and a spot opens up. Long term, Clifford could be a 30-homer hitter who is better in daily and OBP leagues than weekly batting average leagues. Read Past Outlooks