Good morning.
Everyone in baseball
keeps saying that that the Mets have one of the worst pipelines in the game.
I don’t agree.
I think the potential young
pitching can match up with any team in the league and last year’s DSL teams will
send tremendous potential talent stateside this season.
Yes, there are holes.
Both Brooklyn and the GCL Mets had few bright spots.
But Kingsport had some
excellent hitters (3B Rigoberto Terrazas, LF Wagner Lagrange, C Juan Uriarte)
and Columbia produced some excellent pitching (Adam
Atkins, Adonis Uceta, Jordan Humphreys, Matt Blackham).
The following guys, in
my opinion, could help make a difference this year. Some will have to
improve their 2017 numbers while others just have to duplicate them.
They are all pitchers.
Sure, guys like SS/2B Luis Guillorme, David Thompson,
and Peter Alonso could sneak on the extended
roster near the end of the year, but any bats that have a chance of making it
to Queens will have to wait until the 2019 season.
They are:
RP Jacob Rhame –
6th Round – 2013 – LAD
RHP 6-0 222
24/yrs (March)
4-seam: 95.14 Change:
83.47 Slider: 87.47
2017: NYM –
9-appearances, 9-ER, 7-BB, 9.00, 2.11
RP Jamie Callahan –
2nd Round – 2012 – Red Sox
RHP 6-2 195
22/yrs. old (August)
4-seam: 96.82
Slider: 90.64
2017:
9-appearanes 0-0 4.05
1.20
RP – Kyle Regnault –
Not drafted – 2011
LHP 6-2 210
30/yrs. old (December)
4-seam: 92.12
Slider: 84.28 Change: 84.98
Curve 76.52
2017: AAA-Las
Vegas 34-appearamces 5-0
3.28 1.42
SP Chris Flexen –
14th Round – 2012 – Mets
RHP 6-3 215
23/yrs. old (July)
4-seam: 94.08
Slider: 88.48 Change: 83.75
Sinker: 88.48
2017: Mets – 14-G 9-starts
3-6 7.88 2.02
SP Corey Oswalt –
7th Round – 2012 – Mets
RHP 6-4 200
24/yrs. old (September)
4-seam: 96.15
Slider: 90.40 Sinker: 95.05 Change: 89.63
Curve: 85.97
2017:
AA-Binghamton – 24-starts
12-5 2.28 1.18
SP Marcos Molina –
International Free Agent: 2012
RHP 6-3 188
22/yrs. old (March)
4-seam: 94.35 Slider: 84.24
Sinker: 94.18 Change: 90.35
2017:
AA-Binghamton - 13-G,
12-starts 3-7 3.92
1.26
I’m going to leave the
discussion of this to all of you.
The pitching pipeline, I believe, is above average. The offensive pipeline is substandard.
ReplyDeleteI like those guys listed, and I like Tyler Bashlor and Drew Smith too.
Hey, we may just end up with Jennry Mejia as a wild card this year, even though he is not a minor leaguer - he's been gone so long, he feels like one.
If we are in the race in July, we may have several minors pitchers to use in high impact trades.
How much value do minor league relievers actually add to how other organizations grade your system?
ReplyDeleteI think when they produce like Bashlor, Blackham and Uceta, they add quite a bit of credibility, but to Tom's point where are the hitters? Who have they developed on the offensive side of the ledger in the 7 years Sandy Alderson has been here? I'll give you Michael Conforto. Amed Rosario and Dom Smith are works in progress. Pete Alonso's bat looks very promising, but he's not made it to AAA yet, let alone the majors. That's not much to show for nearly 300 players drafted.
ReplyDeleteReese, it is funny that the 4 drafted minor leaguers who haven't made the bigs yet who I consider the org's best hitters all have had significant injuries:
ReplyDeleteAlonso, McNeil, Boyd, and Lindsay. Throw in international Becerra, and a bit (but not too much) of their overall hitter development woes have been injury-related.
That said, even if those 5 were healthy as horses throughout their minors careers, the offense in the farm system would still be substandard. Bad drafting. Again, Travis Shaw was a 9th rounder in 2011 and hit over 30 homers last year. What scrubs did the Mets draft before Boston picked Shaw? Verrett, Pill, Tuschak, Frenzl, Muno, and Panteliodis - to be honest, 5 picks of very dubious pure talent levels - add in 2nd round Cory Mazzoni if you'd like.
If you instead draft for power, you might just get a Shaw or an 8th rounder like Goldschmidt, or a fifth rounder like Rhys Hoskins.
Mack, as usual, you are spot on. The two that I would add to the list of those we might see in '18 are my favorite dark horse to make the opening day roster, P.J. Conlon, and a possible September debut of Drew Smith. (Hey, did they make a new rule about the size of rosters in Sept. that might affect call-ups?)
ReplyDeleteTom, I don't think Mejia gets reinstated in his first try. Maybe in '19. Do you guys think the (stupid) kid deserves a break?
Reese, you are right, we don't have much in the way of position players in the upper minors, near ready. But, just as Mack noted with pitching talent at the lower levels, we have some hitters to. My watch list includes Jeremy Vasquez, Juan Uarte, Hansel Moreno, Rigoberto Terrazas, Wagner LaGrange, Luis Santana, and the elusive Adrian Hernandez.
It seems that a team's "minor league ranking" lags a year or so behind due to their actual production. If the list you presented plays as well as they are capable, the Mets' "ranking" for 2019 will be much higher.
ReplyDeleteGenerally, system rankings are almost as bad as trying to rank a college football team's recruiting efforts.
So much goes on between getting drafted and climbing the ladder. Projecting a player's entire future value before he hits AA is crazy.
Herb -
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to get in touch with you.
Email me at macksmets@gmail.com or call me at 843 683 0376
I wish that I could get some info on what Omar is doing with the team.
ReplyDeleteWe have to start somewhere to rebuild the pipeline and last year's DSL squad looks like a good start.
Herb is right. There are some good pieces throughout the chain but I remember a few years ago when most of our teams either won or played for the championship in their league.
Omar KNOWS talent. He can add to the ix with this year's draft and International signings.
I hope he is involved there.
RE MiL team performance: one thing I notice is that Met prospects get pushed up as soon as they show any signs of success. This may be good for the prospect (the challenge) even if they struggle at first at the next level. I really don't know.
ReplyDeleteBut it certainly doesn't help the team they left.
A few days ago in response to one of Thomas's homage to Evil Empire, I compared our MLB-ranked #26-30 to theirs, and found them quite comparable in output. Yet their 23 yr old (#26, Loaisiga) is pitching in the GCL , ours in AAA (#28 Callahan) ; their #30 22 yr old in the NYP, ours in the FSL.
Hobie, I believe having blue chip prospects is what moves the system ranking, not depth. The Mets may have more MLB prospects but if they are scouted as MLB back-ups or second division starters, they won't move the needle much like having Rosario or Syndergaard coming up will do.
DeleteThey get pushed up at the lower levels, but at the upper levels they languish forever under the current administration. Rosario is the exception in a position player who may stick despite his young age.
ReplyDelete