Mets' A.J. Ewing discusses rising up prospects list, how he's working to improve on defense
· Yahoo Sports
Fresh off his promotion from Double-A to Triple-A at the end of April, Mets prospect A.J. Ewing has seen a big jump in the rankings from No. 83 back in January up to No. 37 in Baseball America's most recent Top 100 prospects list released on May 6.
As the 21-year-old's rise through the system continues, he's working on sticking to the basics and taking things day-by-day.
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"I think it's impossible not to find out about that and see that stuff," Ewing told NJ.com's Max Goodman on an episode of Speaking of the Mets. "At the end of the day, no matter where you're at, you just got to show up and play the same game that you've been playing all these years."
Ewing tore the cover off of the ball in Binghamton, hitting .349 over 18 games in 2026, and hasn't missed a beat so far in Syracuse. The former fourth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft is currently hitting .393 through eight games at the Triple-A level and said his self confidence has helped him continue to play well.
"Just staying with myself and just having confidence that what I'm doing in the box is going to work and that I'm capable," Ewing said. "Always believing in yourself. I think that confidence in the box and confidence in the field just goes a lot more of a way than people might think."
One of the traits that makes Ewing an enticing prospect is his ability to steal bases with ease. Last season over 124 minor league games across three levels, Ewing stole a total of 70 bases and was thrown out just 11 times. He's already swiped 16 bases in 2026 over 24 games and explained why he enjoys using his speed to his advantage.
"I love it, I think that there's a lot of value in that," Ewing said. "And I think it sets the team up to get more runs and sets us up for a lot of success."
When asked what Mets fans who don't know about his game should, Ewing highlighted his impressive plate discipline (only three strikeouts in 28 Triple-A at-bats).
"I spray the ball to all fields," Ewing said. "I think I'm a tough out. I think I grind at-bats really well and I see a lot of pitches and I make pitchers work hard."
For his minor league career, he's logged 149 games in CF, 20 in LF, 19 in RF, and 53 at second base, showing the ability to play all over the diamond. Now in Triple-A and just a step away from the majors, Ewing is focused on continuing to improve on his defense, including both the outfield and at second base.
"A lot of it is the defense," Ewing said. "Just like, be lockdown in the outfield and make sure that I can play second base as an option. I've been doing a lot of work with our guys here on trying to refine those skills and stay pretty stable in the infield. Get better at the things that I'm good at in the box, make a lot of contact and hit a lot of line drives."