New York Mets 2023 Top 30 Prospect Wraps: Calvin Ziegler

The New York Mets are hopeful that Calvin Ziegler, a Canadian prospect, can at some point join them at the Major League level.

InsideTheMets.com will review each of the New York Mets’ Top 30 prospects, as ranked by MLB.com at the end of the 2023 season.

No. 19: RHP Calvin Ziegler, St. Lucie Mets (Class-A)

Statistics for 2023 (all at St. Lucie): 0-0, 0.00 ERA, one game (start), 1.0 innings, no hits allowed, no runs, three strikeouts, no walks, .000 opponent batting average, 0.00 WHIP.

Season Transactions: Ziegler started the season on St. Lucie’s 60-day injured list. On Sept. 8 the St. Lucie Mets activated him.

Season Summary: Well the season didn’t go the way he or the Mets wanted it to go. After surgery for bone spurs in his right elbow, he was on his way back to the field when he tore his quad and found his recovery delayed. He was able to get back on the field for one game with the St. Lucie Mets in September and threw one inning. Even in this small a sample size, he was dominant — three batters faced, three strikeouts.

Path Through the Organization: Ziegler was one of those Canadians who had to get a little creative when it came to working around the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. After the 2020 MLB Draft, he opted to move to Florida and play for TNXL Academy to prep for the 2021 MLB Draft that paid off handsomely with a second-round pick and a $900,000 bonus. The Mets didn’t let him pitch in 2021 and sent him to St. Lucie for the 2022 season, where he pitched 46.2 innings and struck out 70, but the season was truncated due to biceps tendinitis.

What’s next: The good news is that Ziegler’s health problems appear to be behind him. Now he had a full offseason to get prepared for 2024, where it’s likely he’ll start at St. Lucie, unless he makes serious progress during Spring Training. MLB.com’s scouting report has a fastball, a curveball with a high whiff rate but needs a competent third pitch in order to progress. If he can find that pitch, he could accelerate fast toward Queens.

2023 New York Mets Top 30 Prospect Wraps:

No. 30: Kade Morris | No. 29 Coleman Crow | No. 28 Nick Morabito | No. 27 Matt Rudick | No. 26: Joel Diaz | No. 25: Raimon Gomez | No. 24: Diego Mosquera | No. 23: Nolan McLean | No. 22: Jeremiah Jackson | No. 21: Luis R. Rodriguez | No. 20: Ronald Hernandez |