Next up on our list is an outfielder.
Name: Eli Serrano III
Position: OF
Born: 5/01/2003
Height: 6’5”
Weight: 200 lbs.
Bats/Throws: L/L
Acquired: 2024 MLB Draft, 4th Round (North Carolina State University)
2024 Stats: 17 G, 63 AB, .238/.333/.444, 15 H, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 7 BB, 16 K, 1/1 SB, .289 (Low-A)
The son of Sammy Serrano, who played for Stetson University in the mid-90s and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 2nd round of the 1998 MLB Draft, Eli and his brother, Christian, followed in their father’s footsteps and pursued baseball themselves. The Fuquay Varina, North Carolina native initially attended Patriot High School in Nokesvlle, Virginia, here his dad was head baseball coach, but transferred to the Pro5 Baseball Academy in Apex, North Carolina in his junior year. A former teammate of Ryan Clifford, Serrano hit .434 in his senior season in 2022. Considered a highly sought prospect due to his large, athletic frame, bat-to-ball skills, and power potential, he ultimately went undrafted in the 2022 MLB Draft and attended North Carolina State University.
Serrano made an immediate impact in his freshman season, appearing in 53 games and starting 49 of them as the Wolfpack’s primary first baseman. He hit .292/.389/.470 in total, with 12 doubles, 0 triples, 7 home runs, 2 stolen bases in 3 attempts, and drew 24 walks to 37 strikeouts, earning ACC All-Freshman team honors. He had a similar season in 2024. Shifted from first base to center field, Serrano appeared in all 61 games the Wolfpack played and hit .285/.380/.431 with 9 doubles, 0 triples, 9 home runs, 7 stolen bases in 8 attempts, and drew 32 walks to 37 strikeouts. He ended the year with a .988 fielding percentage, making 2 errors in 164 chances and had 6 outfield assists and 156 total putouts. The Mets selected the left-hander in the 4th round of the 2024 MLB Draft and signed him for $697,500, just a bit over the MLB-recommended slot value for the 111th overall selection, $656,400. He was assigned to the St. Lucie Mets in mid-August and appeared in 17 games for them, hitting .238/.333/.444 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs, 1 stolen base, and 7 walks to 16 strikeouts.
The tall, lanky Serrano stands 6’5” and weighs 200-pounds; throughout high school, scouts and evaluators dreamed on him filling in and adding muscle and power, but by and large, this hasn’t happened. Serrano stands square at the plate, standing tall with his hands low, angling his bat at 11:00. He swings with a slight leg lift/toe tap timing mechanism and very little movement.
His long levered, left-handed stroke generally stays level through the zone and produces plenty of line drive contact. With more balls hit in the air, Serrano will be able to better tap into his above-average raw power; he had a cumulative 43.8 % groundball rate, 18.5% line drive rate, and 37.6% flyball rate at NC State. In the small sample size of his performance with St. Lucie in 2024, he showed improvements with 38.3% groundball rate, 23.4% line drive rate, and 38.3% flyball rate with St. Lucie. His swing currently creates elite contact rates both in the zone and outside of it, and when he hits the ball, he is capable of hitting it hard; he averaged an 88.5 MPH exit velocity during his time with St. Lucie, with multiple 100 MPH+ readings, and a max of 107 MPH. Concerningly, while with the Wolfpack, he showed extreme platoon splits and a real weakness against left-handed pitchers, but in his 17 professional games in 2024 hit left-hander pitching much better than right-handers. Against right-handed pitchers, he went 10-60 and did most of his damage against secondary pitches, while against southpaws, he went 5-12 and did most of his damage against fastballs.
At first base, the position he manned in 2023, he made all of the routing plays and became adept at using his long arms and legs to cover ground and to pick errant throws. At center field, the position he played in 2024, he showed good instincts, reading the ball off the bat well and taking mostly efficient routes. While not speedy, his long legs allowed him to cover a lot of ground once he reached his striding speed, and his arm is generally regarded by scouts and evaluators as being average-to-above-average. As a result, while he can likely handle center field in the short term, his long term home in the outfield is a corner.
2025 Mets Top 25 Prospect List
18) Trey Snyder
19) Nick Morabito
20) Dom Hamel
21) Jacob Reimer
22) Will Watson
23) Daiverson Gutierrez
24) Ronald Hernandez
25) Edward Lantigua