Mack – A Look Ahead to the 2020 Affiliates – Syracuse Mets

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.

Last up… my prediction for some of the players that will make the 2020 Syracuse Mets.

Remember… this isn’t the whole team. It’s just the guys that I think that have locked up a role here in Syracuse.

LHSP David Peterson – I, as most Mets fans, expected a lot more from this guy that we are getting. We expected Matt Harvey when we drafted this 6-4 righty, but I’m starting to realize that me might have nothing more than another Mike Pelfrey. He also is not the strikeout machine we had hoped to have here. 2020 will prove if drafting Peterson was the right thing to do. At best, I now have him as an SP5 candidate.

RHSP Mickey Jannis – Jannis will pitch 2020 as a 32/yr. old. I keep trying to write this guy off, but he keeps coming back at me. He put up very good numbers this past season in Binghamton: 20-G, 18-ST, 7-5, 3.10. He also had a taste in Syracuse (6.2-IP, 17-ER, 22.95-ERA) but he bounced back at the AA level. Every organization needs a minimum of five starters on each team and the AAA teams are usually overstocked with so-called AAAA pitchers. Jannis qualifies as one of these guys on my team.

RHSP Harol Gonzalez – (eligible for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Harol will play 2020 as a 25/yr. old. The up-again, down-again career of my friend is back on the up-swing. He went 12-4, 3.01, in 25 games (23 starts) for combined Binghamton and Syracuse, which included 8 games and 7 starts for Syracuse, going 6-0, 2.68, 1.07. I think the Mets are going to lose this guy in the Rule 5 Draft if they don't add him to the 40-man, If they don’t, he will be the first call-up if a replacement starter is needed.

RHSP Corey Oswalt – Oswalt will pitch 2020 as a 27/yr. old. I don’t have much to say about this guy who disappointed me every time he came to Queens. Remarkable minor league pitching followed by dud starts every time for the Mets. Two schools of thought here. If he is to remain a starter, ink him in permanently as an AAAA pitcher, but… if you move him to the pen, you have the chance to develop a great middle reliever a la Seth Lugo.

LHRP Blake Taylor – Taylor will pitch 2020 as a 25/yr. old. Taylor came to the Mets as part of the Ike Davis trade and it really paid off this past season. He went 2.63-ERA in 21 appearances for St. Lucie, followed up by 1.85-ERA in 18 appearances for Binghamton. He combined for 74-K in 66.2-IP. The easiest promotion I have in this series is sending this kid to Syracuse and we could see him in Queens by mid-season.

RHRP Ryley Gilliam – Gilliam will play 2020 as a 24/yr. old. Tough season in 2019 for Ryley. He shot out a cannon in 2018 as a closer from Clemson, going 1.41, 1.15 in 17 outings for Brooklyn in 2018. The Mets should have left him in St. Lucie in 2019 (7 outings, 2.53, 0.94) instead of kicking him straight to AA-Binghamton (12 outings, 4.34) and then AAA-Syracuse (10 outings, 13.50-ERA). He was finally shut down with ‘dead arm’ for the season. Me? I would send him back to Binghamton to get his game worked out but looks for another shot at Syracuse this spring.

RHRP Stephen Villines – Villines will play 2020 as a 25/yr. old. The Kansas grad impressed at Binghamton last season (28 outings, 1.20, 1.07) but went all dud in Syracuse (13 outings, 6.75, 1.94). Still, we have to pitch him again at the AAA level to see if he can right the ship. Remember… he also went 0.41 in 16 outings for St. Lucie in 2018.

RHRP Stephen Nogosek – Nogosek will play 2020 as a 25/yr. old. This guy is really a walking puzzle. He has 34 combined outings last year for Binghamton and Syracuse, posting a ridiculous stat line of 3-0, 0.36 (yes, 0.36), 0.95. That’s 2-ERs in 49-IP. It seemed like the right thing to do was to send him to Queens. Results? 0-1, 10.80, 2.10, 8-ER in 6.2-IP. Nogosek, and the Mets, have to shake this off. Start him off back in Syracuse and, if he shows the same kind of dominance he showed last year at this year, send him to Flushing for the remainder of the year.

RHRP Ryder Ryan – Ryan will pitch 2020 as a 25/yr. old. Ryan came to the Mets as a throw in after a cash dump of Jay Bruce to Cleveland. He has worked his way up from Columbia and, last year, posted a 3.05-ERA in 25 outings for Binghamton. He also had a 10.02-K/9 ratio. He’s a definite move to Syracuse next spring.

RHRP Matt Blackham - (eligible for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Blackham will pitch 2020 as a 27/yr. old. You all know what a big fan most of the Mack’s Mets writers are about Matt. It was a shame he didn’t get a 40-man promotion this past September, after mastering Syracuse (12-outings, 2.60, 1.07). I am afraid that baseball is going to recognize Blackham’s talents sooner than the Mets do and he is going to be lost in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. I look at some of the names of relievers on our current 40-man and it makes me sick to see their names their over Matt’s.

RHRP Adonis Uceta – Uceta will play 2020 as a 26/yr. old. Another reliever that has earned his way to Syracuse after a stellar year for Binghamton: 36-outings, 5-3, 1.44, 1.03, 7-SV, 56-IP, 55-K. He did throw one inning last year at the AAA level (5-IP, 33.75), but we will give him a push on this.

RHRP Joseph Shaw - (eligible for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Shaw will play 2020 as a 26/yr. old. As a 25/yr. old, Shaw pitched for three teams last year (A+/AA/AAA) and produced a stat line of 31-outings, 3.36, 59-IP, 65-K). Very quietly, Shaw is moving closer to Flushing.

RHRP Joseph Zanghi - (eligible for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Zanghi will play 2020 as a 25/yr. old. Zanghi made his bones this past season in Binghamton (31-outings, 2.34, 1.21). He did stumble late in the season in Syracuse (5-outings, 6.35), but most relief pitchers do when they hit this level. I expect he will start off here in the spring with Manhattan in his plans.

C Ali Sanchez - (eligible for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – I love Sanchez’ defensive game, but it simply isn’t enough to earn a starting gig. 2020 will once again feature Wilson Ramos (last year of contract) and Tomas Nido. For now, he will battle Patrick Mazeika for playtime unless Mazeika is played mostly on first.

C Patrick Mazeika – (eligible for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Mazeika will play 2020 as a 26/yr. old. In my opinion, Patrick had a disappointing season in 2019, his second in a row for Binghamton. As mentioned above, I expect him to split time with Ali Sanchez behind the Syracuse home base, or turn full time into a first baseman, Right now… right now… I believe the Mets need to look outside for their starting 2021 catcher.

2B Sam Haggerty – Haggerty will play 2020 as a 26/yr. old. He was traded to the Mets in the Kevin Plawecki deal. Blazing speed and good glove. Hit a combined .271 in 2019 for Brooklyn, Binghamton, and Syracuse. Very little power. Another favorite of Tom Brennan. Tom thinks he will open up with the Mets in the spring. He could be right, but Haggerty’s role would only be as a utility player. I would rather let him play every day in Syracuse as second base.

SS Andres Gimenez - (eligible for the 2020 Rule 5 Draft) – Gimenez will play 2020 as a 22/yr. old. Once again, Gimenez put up ‘fair’ numbers in 2019. Played the entire season and hit .250 in 432 at-bats. The power he was projected to someday having  is starting to eek out (9-HRs). This is the year he needs to prove his worth. Above him, Amed Rosario played almost All-Star ball in 2019 and below him, Ronny Mauricio is biting on his heels. Step it up Andres and let’s make this interesting.

IF Luis Guillorme – I’ve come to realize that there is nothing my boy Luis can do to get a starting gig in Queens. I have him starting back in Syracuse because he has now become a AAAA player that’s only chance of playing major league ball is when there is an injury in Queens.

OF Quinn Brodey – Brodey will play 2020 as a 24/yr. old. Brodey came to the Mets , out of Stanford, with a big power bat reputation that is starting to show. He hit 13 home runs in 2018 for Columbia/St. Lucie, followed by 10 more this past season for St. Lucie/Binghamton. Brodey’s big test begins in April 2020.

           

OF Jason Krizan – Krizan will play 2020 as a 31/yr. old. Who is this guy, anyway? He played parts of eight seasons in the Tigers chain before the Mets picked him off for the 2019 season. He hit 14 home runs Binghamton/Syracuse while hitting a combined .272, with an .818-OPS. I expect he will dig his heals into the Syracuse outfield and become a trusty AAAA emergency.