Good
morning.
Predicting
what minor player will be assigned to what team is not an exact science, but
you can rely on two things:
1. Players that play well at one level
will start the season at the next level up the ladder.
and…
2. Projected prospect stars, even if
they card out above par, will get another shot at either the same level they
played, or one up if management believes they can handle the promotion.
This post
is the fourth in a series of predicted
roster leaders for the start of 2020. There will be plenty of other players.
Some that didn’t fare that well in 2019. Some that haven’t been drafted yet.
But these guys are the meat and potatoes of our system right now.
We have
two teams left to project.
Next up…
the 2020 Binghamton Mets.
LHSP Thomas Szapucki – (eligible
for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Okay, let’s get all this Rule 5 chatter put away.
Injuries or not, Szapucki is currently the top Mets starter in the chain and
should be ready for a Flushing debut on opening day 2021. He will be protected
with an invite to the 40-man squad. I expect him to be healthy and part of the
2021 Mets rotation.
LHSP Kevin Smith – Smith only
throws in the low 90s, but his premier spin rate, funky delivery, and 6-5 lefty
deliveries offset any velocity deficiencies. His combines St. Lucie/Binghamton
stat line included 130-K in 117-IP. I’m going to keep him in the Binghamton for
now, but he could easily become a future lefty specialist.
RHSP Austin McGeorge -
(eligible for the 2020 Rule 5) - The 26/yr. old is a former 7th round pick in the 2016 draft. Bumps
and bruises limited him to only 16 appearances in 2019, 14 of which were for
Binghamton (3.55-ERA). I don’t expect him to be taken in the Rule 5, so I will
start him off again in the B-Met pen and promote him to Syracuse later on in
the year if he excels.
RHRP Allan Winans – Winans had
a stat line of 30-apps, 2.74, 1.08, 42.2-IP, 40K for Columbia last year.
Because he will play 2020 as a 25/yr. old, I’m bumping him past St. Lucie and
placing him in the B-Met pen.
RHRP Darwin Ramos – The
Venezuelan native will play 2020 as a 24/yr. old. Pitched for three teams last
season (Columbia, St. Lucie, Binghamton) went 42-apps, 2.20, 1.29 last season.
Only one of those games were at this level so I’m bringing him back here to work
on his control (23-BB in 64-iP).
RHRP Thomas McIlraith - (eligible
for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Thomas will pitch 2020 as a 26/yr. old. He had a
few outings here last season (3-apps, 3.60) but spend the majority of the
season coming out of the St. Lucie pen (20-apps, 2.79).
RHRP Danny Hrbek – Hrbek was a
24/yr. old un-drafted pitcher that came out of the Kansas City chain and rewarded
us with a 20-app, 4-0, 3.12 40-IP, 50-K stat line for Columbia. I’m going to go
all ‘John From Albany’ here and bump Hrbek 2 levels, mainly because of his age.
RHRP Tylor Megill – Tom
Brennon thinks this is a future Mets rotation piece. He will pitch 2020 as a
25/yr. old. He did fine as a reliever last season for Columbia (14-apps, 3-ST,
2.61. but went 7-ST, 4.04 for St. Lucie and 1-ST, 5.40 for the B-Mets. I’ll
keep him here but I’m returning him to the pen where he has done his best work.
RHRP Briam Campusano - (eligible
for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Campy will pitch 2020 as a 24/yr. old. He pitched
very well in St. Lucie last season, going 3.24, 1.11 in 19 games. I expect this
is enough to promote this ground ball maker.
LHRP Andrew Mitchell – Mitchell
will pitch 2020 as a 25/yr. old. I really like Mitchell. He pitched in 34 games
last year, including 18 for St. Lucie (3.14, 1.15, 30-K, 28.2-IP. He followed
his up after striking out 32 in 19.2-IP for Columbia. I predict that Mitchell may wind up to lead
our bullpen someday.
1B Jeremy Vasquez - Vasquez is
showing flashes of being a possible major league first baseman, even though the
team doesn’t seem to need one. Still, he needs to continue to develop because
you are always one injury away from a phone call.
2B Luis Carpio – (eligible for
the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Carpio started out the 2019 season hitting .330 in 94
at-bats for St. Lucie. This got him an invite to Binghamton where he hit .263
in another 243 at-bats. It looks like he lost his starting second base slot to
Carlos Cortes, Time may be running out for the 22/yr. old.
2B Carlos Cortes – I’m very
happy to be proven wrong about Cortes. I saw a lot of him down here in South
Carolina and, frankly, I wasn’t impressed. I was wrong. Cortes will continue to
move up the chain and could end the 2020 season in Syracuse.
SS Edgardo Fermin - (eligible
for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Fermin will play 2020 as a 22/yr. old. He’s a talented
organizational piece that fits in well between the Mets two super prospects, Andres
Gimenez and Ronny Mauricio. Fermin will fill the slot left open when Gimenez is
bumped to Syracuse next spring.
OF Wagner Lagrange - (eligible
for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Lagrange will play 2020 as a 25/yr. old. Lagrange
had 385 at-bats last season for the combined Columbia (.282) and St. Lucie
(.293) teams. Not much power here (6-HR, 48-RBI), but plenty of speed. He’s fun
to watch too!
I see no reason why Thomas S can not be a candidate to be our #5 starter.
ReplyDeleteSmith, Szapucki, Megill, and even Humphreys, give us some nice starter options soon.
ReplyDeleteCarpio at 22 - time may be running out for him staying with the Mets, but he is young enough to keep climbing towards MLB.
Hopefully Cortes takes off from his 2019 baseline.
Seems a bit thin here, no?
ReplyDeleteNot a shock since our A ball teams were ordinary, I suppose.
A Few Thoughts
ReplyDelete1. Verlander tonight. If you get a second or two, go check out Cole's and Verlander's 2019 stats. Unbelievable and not just good. Imagine if the 'Stros still had Morton too?
2. I still like Eduardo Alfonso the most for the manager here in 2020, but admittedly do not know if he would even want this job. Following "Fonzie", I like Luis Rojas (he knows this team already and has some managerial experience elsewhere on a lower level), then probably someone like a Dusty Baker or Joe Maddon.
3. I concur with Mack on Nogesek being close to here, but too realize that "close" doesn't win a team the WS either, so time will tell. And I too like Kevin Smith a lot also. I would not at all be surprised if both had a chance to break 2020 ST on the 25-man. It will come down to how they do in ST. Mets need to fine tune their thinking on how to optimally utilize the bullpen in game situations. I obviously like the two units with three talent interchangeable relievers. Then one alternate rubber arm guy for the seven. Preferably a lefty.
4. On Gimenez. I just think that the Mets already have their man for shortstop in the sparkplug hustling Amed Rosario. I leave Amed on shortstop, as he is inches away now from receiving an All-Star selection in 2020. Andre Gimenez really is the perfect trade chip for what this team needs added in more talent wise. You have got to be willing to trade "real good" players for "real good" players back.
5. Second base. McNeil/Cano three games each in a platoon, to rest Robbie. Then McNeil subs in at left a game and right field a game making his weekly game contribution at 5 games. While Robbie Cano is the first man off the bench to pinch hit or he can be used on third base a game to rest that starting third baseman there. Nice problem to have though.
6. With an infield of: 1B Alonso, 2B Cano/McNeil, SS Rosario 3B Yet to be acquired, maybe Chavis or Dalbec from BRS, LF JD Davis, CF Nimmo, RF Yet to be acquired, C Ramos, there is a really strong nucleus here now. Just needs these two tweaked positions.
7. Stroman and Matz. If the NY Mets were to concur that by adding in the very affordable but quite good lefty SP Wade Miley (or someone equally good), then it "could make some sense" to have the fifth starter spot open come 2020 ST, with righty Harol Gonzales and one of the lefty kid starters Mack had mentioned recently. To me, there is absolutely nothing better in ST than to have competition for an open job vacancy.
Look, the best manager in 2018 MLB was who? Probably Alex Cora. He had no managerial experience really beyond a fill-in role after Houston fired their manager a few seasons earlier. Alex was the bench coach to that fired manager, which is how he first became a manger.
Alex had a relatively veteran and well established talented team. A team that knew their roles and the Red Sox management's expectations of them in those roles. They were a team that could perform to a high level easily. A team with superior player and managerial chemistry, like the 2019 NY Mets second half.
Alex Cora also had the perfect attitude, people skills, calm demeanor and confidence without lugging along all the usual ego nonsense so many managers luggage along with themselves into a new managerial slot.
What to me, is the best attribute of the current NYM team as a whole?
ReplyDeleteIt's team chemistry and the ability of so many really talented younger players to play more than one position and at such a high level.
I think this is the making of the very best NYM team, ever. And I think that history will one day soon prove this out.