A year ago, there was a high school infielder in Virginia who was a big popup prospect, one crosscheckers and scouting directors were running in to see late. James Triantos ended up a second-round pick of the Cubs. This spring, Morabito has a lot of the same qualities and is rising up Draft boards in a hurry as the Virginia native stars for Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C.
Small and compact, Morabito is built like a football player, though he doesn’t play the sport, reminding some of Chad Curtis or a smaller Clint Frazier-type physically. The right-handed hitter has a short, compact swing and above-average bat speed. It enables him to make hard contact with solid power, especially for someone his size. He’s a plus runner who has the chance to make an impact on the basepaths.
What is unclear is where Morabito might play defensively. He’s a shortstop in high school, but his below-average arm will rule that out at the next level. Some have seen an arm slot that could work from second base, while others have thought letting his athleticism play in the outfield would be the best move. Wherever he plays, it’s his bat and wheels that will have teams interested in signing him away from his Virginia Tech commitment.
The Mets gained the 75th overall pick in the 2022 Draft after Noah Syndergaard signed with the Angels and used it on Morabito out of Gonzaga College HS in Washington D.C. By 2024, Morabito was the Mets’ Minor League Player of the Year after slashing .312/.403/.398 with 59 steals in 119 games at Single-A and High-A. He spent the 2025 season with Double-A Binghamton, generating a 120 wRC+ in 118 games there, and finished the year with a solid turn in the Arizona Fall League. The Mets protected him from the Rule 5 Draft with a spot on the 40-man roster.
Morabito has been an above-average performer at every Minor League stop to this point, often showing a good mix of discipline and bat-to-ball skills. His strikeout rate crept up in 2025, and while using a minimal lower-half load, he was a bit more vulnerable to velocity in the zone than you’d like with Binghamton. He showed more of a leg lift in the AFL and improved the in-zone contact rate, albeit in a hitter-friendly league. Morabito still hits the ball on the ground a ton -- only Christian Yelich (56.7) had a higher ground-ball rate in the Majors than Morabito’s 53.9 percent in the Eastern League -- and he’ll need to hit more balls out front to produce double-digit homers in a season.
Morabito is an absolute speedster, though, with plus-plus wheels, making him a constant threat to steal anytime he’s on base. After he was drafted, the Mets immediately pushed him to center field where, after work to improve his reads, he draws strong reviews for someone still growing into the position. The speed and defense will get him MLB looks, but he’ll need more out of the bat to be a true everyday player.
A strong senior performer at Gonzaga College High School in Washington D.C., Morabito went to the Mets with the 75th overall pick in 2022 (the compensation pick New York gained when Noah Syndergaard signed with the Angels) and signed for above slot at $1 million. He was considered a long-term project and was held back at the Florida Complex League to begin his first full season. But he pushed quickly past the circuit with a .324 average through 30 games and ended the year at Single-A St. Lucie. He returned to the Florida State League to begin 2024, was again promoted quickly and was the Mets’ Minor League Player of the Year after slashing .312/.403/.398 in 119 games.
Speed is still the name of the game for Morabito entering his third full season of pro ball. His 59 steals in 2024 were eighth-most among all Minor Leaguers, and he regularly topped 30 ft/sec Sprint Speeds during his two stints in the FSL. A shortstop as a high schooler, he eagerly took to center field in the pros. He still needs to work on his instincts moving in and back, but his speed makes up for any initial miscues. Morabito has also improved his throwing as a pro, though it’s not quite average yet.
The right-handed hitter continues to show strong swing decisions and improved ability to make contact on pitches in the zone. His exit velocities are solid, but he still puts the ball on the ground too much -- a trend that has held at Double-A Binghamton in 2025. Elevating on contact will be a big goal as Morabito continues his climb if he is going to have a chance to be more than a speedy, high-contact fourth outfielder.
Morabito used a strong senior spring at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., to carve out a prominent spot in the 2022 Draft class, and the Mets picked him 75th overall that July and signed him above slot for $1 million. Knowing New York had a project on its hands, Morabito was kept in the Florida Complex League to begin his first full season and hit his way to Single-A St. Lucie at the start of August. Morabito finished with a .306/.421/.407 line and 130 wRC+ over 57 games across both stops.
Morabito has plenty of speed to burn, earning plus-plus grades for his wheels, and that enabled him to swipe 21 bags in 25 attempts last season. It’s also a big reason -- along with below-average arm strength -- why he moved from his high-school position of shortstop to center field, and early reviews on his ability to cover a ton of ground have been promising. The Mets also gave him brief looks at second base and right field in the FCL, but he was center-only at the higher level.
Much will come down to Morabito’s bat. He didn’t expand the zone much and took a healthy amount of walks (13.3 percent) against lower-level arms, but his in-zone contact rate was a little on the concerning side despite a compact right-handed swing. He has average raw power (topping out at a 109.5 mph exit velocity at Single-A), but that has yet to emerge consistently. Luckily, he can beat out grounders to pick up hits, and considering he’s entering his age-21 season, there’s still time for the in-game pop to play.
James Triantos rose up Draft boards quickly in 2021 and forced scouts and crosscheckers to go rushing to Virginia. Something similar happened to Morabito in the same area as the outfielder used a strong spring at Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., to become a must-follow name in the 2022 Draft. He went to the Mets with the 75th overall pick and signed above slot at $1 million. He got a short six-game look in the Florida Complex League later in the summer and struggled with 14 strikeouts in 24 plate appearances.
That early K percentage was certainly concerning, but it's just part of a small sample size. Morabito typically displays a short, compact swing and promising bat speed that helps him turn on balls. As a result, he shows better raw power than his 5-foot-11 frame would indicate, and despite his size, even that tool could be average in time. He’s a borderline plus-plus runner to boot, and that will likely be the biggest cause for excitement while the bat develops.
A below-average arm was always going to steer Morabito away from his high school position of shortstop, and the Mets have already moved him to center field, where the wheels make for a nice fit. Morabito turned 20 in May, so he’s older than many in his high school class, but he’ll be given time to show he can make more contact and be a potential impactful up-the-middle talent.
A year ago, there was a high school infielder in Virginia who was a big popup prospect, one crosscheckers and scouting directors were running in to see late. James Triantos ended up a second-round pick of the Cubs. This spring, Morabito showed a lot of the same qualities and rose up Draft boards in a hurry as the Virginia native starred for Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C. He eventually went to the Mets with the 75th overall pick.
Small and compact, Morabito is built like a football player, though he doesn’t play the sport, reminding some of Chad Curtis or a smaller Jackson Frazier-type physically. The right-handed hitter has a short, compact swing and above-average bat speed. It enables him to make hard contact with solid power, especially for someone his size. He’s a plus runner who has the chance to make an impact on the basepaths.
What is unclear is where Morabito might play defensively. He’s a shortstop in high school, but his below-average arm will rule that out at the next level. Some have seen an arm slot that could work from second base, while others have thought letting his athleticism play in the outfield would be the best move. Wherever he plays, it’s his bat and wheels that had the Mets interested and will fuel his rise in the New York system.
These run values are leveraged, meaning the base/out situation at the time of the event does impact the run value (thus introducing context outside the batter's own contribution).
! Note: Shifts are through the 2022 season, Shaded starting from the 2023 season, Shift: three or more infielders are on the same side of second base, Shade: positioned outside of their typical responsible slices of the field. Learn more about how positioning is defined here
