Tom Brennan - YOUNG METS DUDES IN SPRING TRAINING – REPORT CARD

Tom Brennan - YOUNG METS DUDES IN SPRING TRAINING – REPORT CARD

How are our young dudes A/K/A wannabes doing? (Definition: a guy is a wannabe if he does not have a lock on the Mets’ 25 man opening day roster).  I broke them into 3 categories:

CATEGORY 1: Playing So Danged Good Even Vet-Loving Terry Collins Must Be Impressed

Boy, the top Category #1 is oh so C..R..O..W..D..E..D.  Six hitters, 10 pitchers.

Philip Evans – two Brooks Robinson quality plays at 3B and a solo homer and a grand slam, all in his first 10 plate appearances?  Says Phil: "HELLO!  Just letting you know last year's AA batting title was no fluke."

Amed Rosario – so far, the 5 for 13 bat is saying, “you can make me wait if you have to, but I am ready for the big leagues RIGHT NOW.”

Michael Conforto – would be a 25 man lock if the Mets did not have a bazillion outfielders, but he is swinging with AUTHORITY in the early going.  I still see a future star in Mr. Conforto.  8 for 16 with a double and 2 homers shouts "I'M BACK!!"

Gavin Cecchini - hey, 6 for 11 and 2 walks, with just one K?  A double and a homer, and a steal?   This guy sure seems to be trying to force the issue.   Give us some adequate 2nd base defense and we are going to have to think about him as a legit starting IF in the bigs for 2018.

Brandon Nimmo - 8 for 18 (.444).  Unfortunately, his slugging % is also .444, but a very nice start from a guy I surely hope can show us more than singles.

Matt Reynolds - on base 6 of 11 times so far.  He is competing in a very crowded infield scenario.

Seth Lugo - pitched great last year, and 5 fine scoreless innings already this spring.  In many years, he'd be a lock for the starting rotation.

Rob Gsellman - at the risk of sounding repetitive, pitched great last year, and 2 fine scoreless innings already this spring.  In many years, he'd be a lock for the starting rotation.

Raffles Montero - hopefully, Raffie has a winning lottery raffle ticket to the Mets' squad this spring: 6 innings so far of 1 hit shutout ball with 8 Ks.  

PJ Conlon - 2 (what else) scoreless innings...he never cared much for people putting their feet on plates, something he learned back in Belfast.

Paul Sewald - 3 hitless innings so far - what does a guy have to do to impress folks around here, anyway?

Josh Smoker - tossing fireballs, he has tossed 3.1 shutout, one hit innings.  The big lefty is looking to go north with the big club.

Adam Wilk - 3.2 scoreless innings, 4 Ks, just 2 hits, no BBs. So far, so great.

Ben Rowan - 2 scoreless. 1 hit, 2 K innings. 

And finally, the TAYLORS (Logan and Corey) - both with 3 innings of 1 hit, shutout ball.  Nice.

CATEGORY 2: Not Too Shabby So Far

Luis Guillorme – has had notable spring moments…one was a triple (he’s had only 2 triples and a homer in 1,484 minor league plate appearances, so perhaps the 3 bagger is a sign of more extra base hits about to emerge).  

The other was a deftly snagged, quickly flying bat, snatched out of thin air in the dugout as others ran for their lives that got national attention (heck, I saw it on the Breitbart website, not typically a sports site).  

Luis IS CLEARLY a defensive wizard.  165 pounds when signed, 190 now (a weight Bud Harrelson never came close to), so the 5’9”, 22 year old Luis may show some more pop as his minor league season progresses. He's 2 for 9 and a walk so far, just one strikeout.

TJ Rivera - 4 for 17 (.235) with a homer and double, fully on track after a rough first several at bats.  He's ready for the bigs, but are the Mets ready for him?

Dominic Smith - just 2 for 13 so far, but his walks give him a .353 OB %.  Most likely needs another full season in the minors, where he'll turn 22 in June.

CATEGORY 3: Whoever Said This Game Wasn’t Hard?

Champ Stuart - some are big fans of the fanning, fleet OF, but his 7 outs so far?  All by strikeout.

Travis Taijeron - 1 for 7 with 2 walks, and 4 Ks.  Another man who fans too much, sadly.

Kevin McGowan - in a camp where virtually all young pitchers have done great, he has struggled early: 3 innings, 7 runs...was not going to make the Mets in 2017 anyway, so it is a learning experience for Mac G/