Tom Brennan - METS MINORS DARK HORSES: MAZZILLI, TAYLOR, TEBOW

Tom Brennan - METS MINORS DARK HORSES: MAZZILLI, TAYLOR, TEBOW

A "Dark Horse" is defined, according to the internet, which is never wrong, as "a...competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds."

Well, 2 of the next 3 dudes quality as little known, one is pretty well known.  But which of the 3 might just unexpectedly win or succeed?

First off is:

LJ Mazzilli - sure, the last name is familiar enough, but LJ himself is not.  Does he deserve to be considered a dark horse, as his career now stands?

Nope…maybe a really, really dark horse.  I almost hit a black bear running across I-80 one night – now THAT bear was a dark horse, let me tell you. 

That is how dark it appears for LJ right now.

After all, the former FOURTH (ugh - don't get me started) round pick is a career .268/.338/.378 hitter in the minors....not terrible, even if not great.  

But the last two years in the high minors, the 27 year old has only hit about .245/.330/.355, and in his 94 at bats to date in AAA, he has hit just .225.  Is he a defensive wizard to offset his hitting mediocrity, like Andrelton Simmons?

No, but seems to have some opportunistic baserunning skills with 39 steals in 52 tries in his career.  All in all, if this dark horse does not explode his game higher in 2018, his career will be facing a dark night. 

There are several IF guys ahead of him at this point, including…

 

Kevin Taylor, who, at age 26, is 6 months younger than LJ.  After a brief time in the Dodgers’ minors as a 36th rounder, he played Indy ball for a while.  Smart move. 

In indy ball in 2015, in 98 games, he hit .327/.435/.497.  Nice.

The attentive Mets grabbed him from the dust bin for 2016, and in 2016 and 2017 in A and AA, he performed quite admirably, putting up .290/.380/.390 composite stats.  It would seem that if he can do that, or better, in AAA this season, he might have a real utility player shot at the big leagues.

He has played mostly 2B and the outfield, and done so well enough, and also scored some time at 1B and 3B.  Speed may not be his game, but for the lefty hitter, contact is...only 108 Ks versus 110 walks in 910 plate appearances in 2016 and 2017.

Kevin is a dark horse getting lighter by the day.  Time will tell for this overachiever.

Tim Tebow is the guy everyone knows, and who is out in the glaring spotlight of media. He leads the minors in attendance boosting skills, and that is a qualification that could help him get to the big leagues, even if briefly, later this year. 

His first year offensively in mid and high A ball was not attention-grabbing, at .226/.309/.347 in 486 plate appearances, but he certainly did OK at that advanced a level for a guy with no recent playing experience. 

And with seemingly 50% or more of Mets minor leaguers missing gobs of time due to injury, that many plate appearances is testament to his durability.

He needs in 2018 to amp up the bat, as his defense in 2017 was a real liability - shoddy is the right word(.917 fielding % in the outfield, with just 2 outfield assists). 

He is a true “wild card” dark horse at age 30 – will he explode with the bat, now that he has a season under his belt, or will he sputter?  I believe the former.  In fact, I am expecting .270/20/80 out of him this season, split between AA and AAA.

My guess is that he will also significantly improve his defense, to the point of mediocrity, in 2018 - and that Sandy Alderson will call him up in September.

To recap, ten (mostly aging by baseball standards) dark horses: seven previously highlighted - Anthony Dimino, Jeff McNeil, Jayce Boyd, Kyle Regnault, Tim Peterson, Dave Roseboom, Mickey Jannis - and the three highlighted in this article.

I will be watching to see which ones can rip the major leagues lid off and sneak up onto a 25 man roster in the good old MLB.  Because I've pulled for dark horses - always have.

So ends my dark horse series.  

Time to quit horsing around.  Gallop on to other topics. 

Like teenage Mets prospects.