In 2017, the New York Mets will once again team up with the Los Angeles Angels, New York Yankees, and San Francisco Giants to put together a team for the Scottsdale Scorpions with the addition of the Cincinnati Reds.
Unlike previous seasons where the club would send 2-3 top prospects for some final seasoning, in 2017, the club seems more inclined to "see what they have" in a number of wild cards within the organization.
C Tomas Nido- Nido is arguably the only "top prospect" among the group that will be playing for Scottsdale. In addition, he is the only player that is on the MLB club's current 40 man roster. With 2 younger catchers already with the MLB club, Nido faces an uphill battle in his quest to make the team. However, a strong performance in the AZL could make the team question its commitment to the combo of Plawecki and d'Arnaud for the 2018 season.
IF Luis Guillorme- Is Guillorme a "top prospect?" Well.....that depends on who you ask. There is no doubt that he is by far.....and by a wide margin....the best glove in the entire system. However, there are still plenty of questions in regards to his range, his limited power, and if his hitting approach will work or not in the MLB. With Guillorme eligible for the Rule 5 draft this off-season, the club needs to answer these questions in order to feel comfortable with adding him to the 40 man roster. If not, he seems very likely to get selected in the draft.
OF Kevin Kaczmarski- At 25 years old, you can't really call him a "prospect." At the same time though, he is not yet eligible for the Rule 5 draft yet so his appointment to the team means the club is still intrigued by what they have in him. Probably the most interesting thing here is that while Kaz has played 216 of his 232 career MiLB games in LF/RF....the Scorpions have him listed as a CF. With a low power bat with above average speed, an ability to post high OBP, and an excellent defensive profile...Kaczmarski could profile much better as a CF and club seems to also be thinking the same thing with this appointment.
3B David Thompson- 3B is an extremely shallow position throughout the Mets organization including the MLB level. Although Urena finished the season in AAA, it is Thompson who is the closest the being MLB ready after a decent season with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. He is a solid defender at the hot corner and he has nice amount of power in his bat posting 46 extra base hits in 133 games this season. Thus far he's been flying under the radar but a strong performance in the AZL could position him for potential role as an MLB contributor in 2018.
RHP Tim Peterson- Peterson is a classic case of slow and steady development. Drafted in the 20th round of the 2012 draft, Peterson has been remarkably consistent in his career path. Every year Peterson would repeat the same level he struggled in the previous season.....dominate the league.....get promoted 1 level......and struggle there. The latest occurrence was repeating AA in 2017 with the Rumble Ponies after posting an "ok" 4.09 ERA in 2016. In accordance with his career, Peterson dominated posting a 1.14 ERA with an 8.6 K/9 rate and a minuscule 1.6 BB/9 rate. With the poor shape of the MLB and AAA bullpens, Peterson could put himself in line for a 40 man roster spot with a strong AZL performance.
RHP Mickey Jannis- Returning for the 2nd time in the last 3 years, at 29 years old, Jannis could very well be the oldest player in the AZL this season. That's not to say that Jannis doesn't belong. The club has been genuinely intrigued by him since they signed him out of independent ball in 2015. After being cut by the Rays in 2011, Jannis reinvented himself as a knuckleballer and posted ridiculous numbers with the Long Island Ducks before the Mets grabbed him. After a rough 2016 season, Jannis bounced back nicely posting a 8-7 record with a 3.60 ERA and improving his K/9 and BB/9 rates.
LHP Kyle Regnault- Just like Jannis, Regnault is another older arm (28 yrs old) that the Mets grabbed from Independent ball who will be making his 2nd appearance in the Arizona Fall League. As a left handed pitcher with a strong K rate and impressive numbers in AA this season, Regnault has about as good of a chance as any to make an impression in the AZL and earn himself a 40 man roster spot as part of the club bullpen revamping project. His chances certainly improved after Josh Edgin elected Free Agency last week.
RHP Matt Pobereyko- Who? How about another independent baseball free agent signing? This time from the Florence Freedom, the Mets signed Pobereyko after he posted a ridiculous 38 K's with a 1.00 ERA in his first 18 IP of the Indy Ball season. Pober carried that high octane arm over to the (A) Columbia Fireflies and posted an additional 53 K's with a 3.15 ERA in 34.1 Innings Pitched. He's not eligible for the Rule 5 Draft so this falls completely into the realm of "hey.....lets see what we got here" category.
It's great to have you back Chris
ReplyDeleteChris, great perspective on each of these guys. Concise and spot on.
ReplyDeleteI like this whole crew playing down there.
Guillorme and Thompson both have to show if they have enough bat to crack the big leagues.
I am happy to see Nido playing winter ball - he just has not played enough, he needs to get more games in and speed things up.
Pobereyko gives us an excellent Russian Connection. Time is not on his side, buy he certainly impressed with Columbia this season.
A guy like Kaczmarski needs to change the "low power" to "moderate power."
Peterson is certainly an interesting case - the next Paul Sewald? And is that good enough?
And is Jannis possibly the next Dickey? He did make real strides this year and at 29 is delightfully young as a knuckleballer.