LOWER MINORS HIGH RISERS by Tom Brennan
Some Mets' LOWER MINORS guys are showing signs of being HIGH RISERS. Here's a few (list not all-inclusive):
TOM SZAPUCKI: the 20 year old lefty fireballer had his debut for the Cyclones yesterday: 5.1 shutout innings with 8 Ks. In 34 innings in 2016, 0.52, 55 Ks. Pretty brilliant. Next Mets ace?
HAROL GONZALEZ: the 21 year old eighty is dazzling in Brooklyn, with a record of 2-1, 2.14, 0.90 WHIP, 52 Ks in 42 IP. LITTLE PEDRO?
DESMOND LINDSAY: last year's 2nd rounder has played very little, but his recent play has been promising: he's been on base 11 of 21 times. Stay healthy, Desmond, and keep up the .545 OBP.
KEVIN KACSMARSKI: OK, not so low minors, but in his first 12 games in St Lucie he is hitting .391, with an OBP of close to .500. After hitting .355 in his Kingsport debut last year, to me he looks like he could be another Brandon Nimmo type. And Nimmo is up to .338 with 7 smacks in Vegas, not counting his smile bomb in Queens.
PETER ALONSO: this year's 2nd rounder is hitting like a Cyclone in Brooklyn. After 15 games, .315/.413/.574. Like the pop.
DAVID THOMPSON: another recent graduate to St Lucie, the only thing finishing the 4th rounder in 2015's accomplishments this year is losing about 20 games to injury. In 79 games, he has a whopping 70 RBIs, 36 extra base hits, and is a shade under .300.
BEN GRISET: also not so low, Ben has tossed 41 innings for St Lucie this year in relief, allowed just 3 earned runs, and has a 0.85 WHIP. 3-0, too.
PJ CONLON: couldn't not include the finesse lefty, who between Columbia and St Lucie is 11-2, 1.93 in 18 starts this year. Sterling.
ANDRES GIMINEZ: the 17 year old is flourishing in the DSL with .338/.450/.507 in 38 games. Bonus baby doing real good.
That's my list folks. G'day.
Interesting stuff and thanks for posting. Thomas haven't seen anything in quite awhile from Mack....is he alright?
ReplyDeleteSome big upside on that list.
ReplyDeleteGary, I think Mack is doing OK. Think he is just enjoying the relaxation time. Thanks for asking.
ReplyDeleteAdam, I think so in terms of the upside. I want to see more of Conlon against higher competition, since I heard he is a high 80s guy. AA seems to start to really separate the men from the boys. Amazing, though, that Conlon's debut last year covered about 20 innings only, with zero earned runs.
But Szapucki has been, to used an overused term, electric. I think he will move fast.
I still think Max Wotell, who had a up-and-down outing in his last start, could be the one-year-younger version of Szapucki. overall, he has pitched well for Kingsport.
Hopefully, we get a healthy Marcos Molina back and raring to go in 2017 too.
Chris Viall is an interesting one. Very hard throwing 6'9" righty drafted in the 6th round, his last outing in Kingsport was a dandy: 4.1 IP, 3 hits, run, 8 Ks. Maybe a bullpen arm in 2018, maybe….the next Randy Johnson, albeit a righty? We should be so lucky.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the (defensive) skinny on Tomas Nido. Holding his own at PSL--only 22.
ReplyDelete