IMAGINE A TEAM BUILT ENTIRELY OF MET MINOR LEAGUERS
By Tom Brennan
Imagine if the current Mets disappeared. Poof! All of them vanish suddenly, except Mr.
Dilson, whose recent cup of coffee prevented his disappearance? Sounds like the stuff of a riveting Rod
Serling sci fi flick.
The authorities search high and low, but they’re…just…gone.
Baseball would go on. So
what would the Mets in, let's say, 2017 look like, if only homegrown talent was
available to replace them?
John Lennon might sing, “Imagine a team built of
Mets minor leaguers, it’s easy if you try…”
I DID.
MY RESULT? HOW ABOUT A CONTENDING TEAM IN 2017?
· First base, manned by a
capable, Olerud-like hitter in Jayce Boyd, capable of Daniel Murphy-like
offense. And with Dom Smith nearly ready
to stake a claim in say mid-2017 if Boyd faltered.
· Second base, a star in
Dilson Herrera, channeling a little bit of the great Joe Morgan.
· Shortstop, a .300 hitting
Matt Reynolds. Amed Rosario closing in on him, though. And let’s not forget Gavin Cecchini.
· Third base, L J Mazzilli,
putting up decent offensive #'s while Jhoan Urena edges closer to cracking the
bigs and giving him a run for his $$.
· Catcher, All Star Kevin
Plawecki, putting up big offensive #'s.
Xorge Carillo’s big bat is ready by then to be a great back up.
· Outfield, two current hot
prospects are now bona fide major league regulars, Michael Conforto and Brandon
Nimmo. For our 3rd OF, I speculate that Champ Stuart will by
then have channeled Mookie Wilson, and be an exciting lead off guy. 4th and 5th outfielders? How about power
hitting Travis Taijeron and 5 tool Cesar Puello, both of whom may be good
enough to start for most teams by then?
· Utility IF, how about Jeff
McNeil? Came along quite nicely in 2014. Muno
or Rivera, if not snatched in Rule 5 draft are alternates.
Pitching?
· Well for starters, how
about Syndergaard, Matz, Bowman, Pill, and Molina, with several capable, major-
league-ready alternatives like Ynoa, Whalen, Meisner, Gant, etc. Tough to beat.
· In the pen, Jack
Leathersich, Akeel Morris, Brad Wieck, Kelly Secrest, Luis Mateo, Corey
Mazzoni, Hansel Robles, or your choice of several others. Tough to beat (whoops, already said that).
Looking at the Mets’ farm system this way, it is truly
impressive to think of what is percolating in the system.
I think the above roster could win in 2017 or 2018.
Am I too pie-eyed? What do you think?
14 comments:
Just a note that I drafted this before Mazzilli messed me up with his 50 game faux pas. Things like that happen in the Twilight Zone.
Frankly, it's refreshing to see some "pie in the sky" optimism rather than the usual "doom and gloom" pessimism that permeates online articles and blogs.
Thanks, holmer. Once Pelfrey moved on from the Mets, my dark, pessimistic cloud lifted. I no longer found myself waking up in the middle of the night licking my hands and wondering why.
Kidding aside, I am hoping for several years of clear skies over Citifield. I think we are ready for a steep incline.
If this Alternate Universe Game is "Pick a 25-man squad from the Met Farm who will see at least a cup of coffee" I would agree with most of your picks.
However Buccera > Champ Stuart IMO, ditto Lupo over Taljeron.
And gosh, even in this universe TJR and Victor Cruzado get no respect.
I was surprised you didn't have your man Muno as your first choice for utility infielder. You've been singing his praises longer than Celine Dion warbled about the Titanic.
How about: Cone, Piazza, Hernandez, Kent, McMillian, Johnson, McReynolds, Beltran, Staub.
@ Hobie: those are my super subs
@ Reese: Someone will get injured. Muno will step in and win league MVP.
My grandmother, by the way, almost was to come to America on the Titanic. As she related the story, she had bought her ticket for the fateful journey, but someone else desperately needed it - she sold or gave the person her ticket. It was 1912, so there is no video proof, unfortunately! Anyway, she made it to America and the rest is the rest!
James Preller: that's a heckuva line up - in or out of the twilight zone!
Jace Boyd is Olerud-like in that he once hit .300? Bit of a stretch there. Boyd is like 3 orders of magnitude worse than Olerud.
Boyd was cooking in 2013, then got injured and needed surgery. Post surgery, He started really slowly in 2014 but surged in the 2nd half.
Olerud comp is most likely a real stretch, but I think Boyd will pleasantly surprise many in 2015 with a breakout performance.
Gimme Dykstra at first.
@Stephen -- Dykstra (I assume you mean Alan and not Lenny) is no longer in the Mets organization. He opted for free agency when it was clear there was no future for him in Queens, so he's now affiliated with the good folks in on the west coast of Florida where he may caddy for James Loney.
Wow I didn't realize we lost him. That's a shame.
@ Stephen Guilbert: Dykstra will be a 30-30 man with Tampa. 30 games, 30 at bats! Kidding aside, hopefully he gets a real opportunity there. Have a good new year.
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