FLUSHING, NY — Before Tuesday, A.J. Ewing was a major piece of the Mets’ future.
Now, the second-ranked Mets prospect and No. 78th in all of Major League Baseball, is a part of the present-day Mets, making an impact in his MLB debut Tuesday night at Citi Field.
As the Mets opened up a three-game series with the Tigers, defeating Detroit by a final of 10-2 in Queens, it was the 21-year-old Ewing donning the uniform number nine.
An orange and blue No. 9 last worn by Brandon Nimmo, who was dealt to Texas in a surprising offseason trade for Marcus Semien.
Though that was the past. Tuesday and going forward is the present.
The left-handed hitting outfielder, like Nimmo—Ewing—listed at five-ten and 160 lbs, also with the ability to man second base, was stationed in the outfield between LF Juan Soto and RF Carson Benge while batting eighth in the lineup.
He had only played 12 games in Triple-A with the Syracuse Mets prior to his call-up on Monday, slashing .326/.392/.435 (.827 OPS) with zero home runs, four RBI and five stolen bases. And before his promotion to Triple-A, Ewing, selected by the Mets in the fourth round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft as a compensatory pick for Jacob DeGrom signing with the Rangers—had seen 46 games of action at Double-A Binghamton (28 games in 2025 & 18 in 2026)—compiling two home runs and 16 RBI with 24 stolen bases.
“He’s a pretty well-rounded player right now,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said Tuesday afternoon. “There aren’t a ton of holes in his game.”
Whereas there are several holes across the board for the Mets, more question marks in how could the first forty games of the 2026 regular season go so wrong at 15-25, Ewing could provide somewhat of a potential answer.
That being a young spark, containing the tools of an “all-around polished talent” as one scout claimed earlier this week who watched Ewing at Triple-A.
“I’m confident in my ability,” Ewing, out of Springboro High School in Ohio, said ahead of his MLB debut, going 1-2 with a triple, three walks, two RBI, one run scored and a stolen base—all a first in his big league career.
“I’m just going to play the same game I’ve been playing and do what I do.”
So far so good in doing what the rookie does and that’s providing that young spark to a team in dire need of it, improving to 16-25 with Tuesday’s victory.
“Pretty impressive,” as Mets manager Carlos Mendoza put it, emphasizing the quality of Ewing’s at-bats and his ability to not panic, later adding “he was pretty much perfect at the plate today and it was just good to see that.”
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