The Mets received the 134th pick in the 2023 Draft as compensation for losing Jacob deGrom to the Rangers in free agency, and the club used that selection to take Ewing out of Springboro (Ohio) High School. The Alabama commit signed for well-above slot with a $675,000 bonus, roughly equal to slot money in the third round. New York slow-played the teenager in his first full season, opening him in the Florida Complex League in May, and pushed him to Single-A St. Lucie in June once it was clear he was too good for the complex. Ewing ran into growing pains in the Florida State League and seems ticketed back there for his age-20 season in 2025.
Standing in at 5-foot-11, Ewing’s best hitting trait at all levels so far has been his unwillingness to expand the zone, including in the FSL where he’s run a chase rate in the 80th percentile. He has been beat in the zone often, however, and he’s struggled with the velocity that comes with full-season ball. On the optimistic side, he’s lifted and pulled the ball fairly well -- an approach that should get his power to play easier as he matures and catches up to pitching with more exposure. He did go deep five times in only 19 FCL games before his promotion.
Ewing has been about an average runner but can get moving underway, a helpful tool on balls to the gaps. Drafted as an infielder, his light arm was going to keep him at second base, but the Mets have given him ample looks at center field this summer. He was very much drafted as a project, while his early development will come in fits and starts, there’s hope for a utility man who can contribute up the middle.
