Tom's Top Mets Prospects - #'s 16 to # 20

Hi, again, people.  How have your prospects been lately?  

Good - I thought so.

Last week, I laid out my top prospects #21 thru #25 (plus two alternates): 

(21) Freddy Valdez; (22) Harol Gonzalez; (23) Ali Sanchez; (24) Alexander Ramirez; (25) Andres Regnault; (25 - alt. 1) Franklyn Kilome; (25 - alt. 2) Jarred Biddy.

Today, here are my # 16 thru # 20 superstars of the future:

(16) IF Wilmer Reyes – two fan favorites of years past were Jose Reyes and Wilmer Flores – in Wilmer Reyes, we get the best of both.  The 2B had a great season for the championship Brooklyn Cyclones, hitting an excellent .323/.350/.441 (5^th in the league), despite going 0 for 11 over the past 3 games. With 41 Ks over 61 games, a very solid rate. 

The 6’1”, 160, 21 year old Reyes was very solid as a SS, and also had games in the field at 2^nd, 3^rd, and 1B.

It will be very interesting to see what he can do for an encore in 2020, undoubtedly in full season A baseball.

(17) RHSP Garrison Bryant – this dude was drafted out of HS in the 36^th round in 2016. 

In 2016, 2017, and 2018, he pitched infrequently – and poorly.  He logged only 92 innings, in which he allowed 86 runs. Ugh!

But 2019 in Brooklyn?  Superb.  5-1, 2.39, and got much more dominant as the season progressed.

In his last 10 games, more than superb.  Super-superb.  As in 4-0, 1.08 ERA, 49 Ks in 58 IP, and a WHIP around 0.60.  Hot dawg.

The 6’3”, 190 lefty now faces the big challenge…can he do better than Jaison Vilera did coming out of Brooklyn in 2018?  In 2018, Vilera was 5-2, 1.83 in Brooklyn.  In 2019, in A and High A, he was 5-8, 5.25 ERA with a 1.48 WHIP and big drop off in Ks per inning.

We’ll find out in 2020.  Personally, if the next 10 starts in 2020 in A ball are 4-0, 1.08 ERA, I’ll take it, won’t you?

(18) IF/OF Sam Haggerty – See Sam Run.  Run, Sam, run!   

The Mets called up Sam Haggerty in September, no doubt for his base stealing and running prowess and excellent defensive reputation.  The 25 year old infielder/ outfielder was acquired in the Kevin Plawecki trade, and was on a hitting tear in mid-season in AA before missing a little over a month with an injury. 

He returned cold, but was promoted to AAA and hit .310/.383/.524 over 12 games there.  He has stolen 113 of 129 times in 408 minor league games, with 27 triples, so the question is, can this popular-in-the-clubhouse switch hitter up his game in 2020 to be a major league utility player?  I don’t see why not. 

The 5’11”, 175 Haggerty has that plus speed and D going for him…but he needs to use any future minors time to improve his hitting and cut down on his Ks (401 in those 408 games).    It is good when speedy guys can get on base to take advantage of the speed – his 2019 OBP of .376 is a real positive in that regard.

(19) RHRP Matt Blackham – Blackham (aside from having been delayed by an extended Tommy John surgery setback earlier in his career) has done nothing but be effective throughout his career. After all, he is 21-9, 2.38 with 284 Ks in 211 career innings, and 16 of 23 in saves.  Yet, he will be 27 in 2020, without having crossed the major league threshold yet.  Why?  And why did he only get to AAA late in 2019? 

I can only speculate that the 5’10”, 150 Blackham is viewed as smallish; and that his career walk rate is a concern (4.2 walks per 9).

He had a very fine 2019, mostly in AA with a late promo to AAA, and ended the season 8-2, 2.60, 70 strikeouts (but 28 walks) in 55 innings.  And 3-0, 2.30 in 15.2 AAA innings.  We have seen many a fine minors performer like Matt falter when the big leagues arrive, so one has to wonder whether the fact that Matt has not been promoted to the Mets in a 2019 season where many called-up relievers have failed speaks louder than his statistics. 

If he is left unprotected in Rule 5, that will say a lot, as will if he is protected.  I had hoped to see him called up in September 2019 to get a first hand look, but alas, that has not turned out to be the case.

(20) IF Carlos Cortes – the 22 year old Cortes, a 3^rd rounder in 2018, had a solid first full season in 2019 after his Brooklyn debut in short season 2018.  In 2019, Cortes hit .255/.336/.397 in 127 games, so it is clear he is durable.  His 11 HRs, 68 RBIs, and just 77 Ks were all laudable outcomes.  The 5’7”, 200 second baseman is not a speedster (6 of 11 steals) and his glove was disappointing in 2019 (17 errors in 76 games).   It should be noted that the league averaged hitting only about .243, so he was better than league average, and his 11 homers were also better than league average output. 

He was a dramatically better hitter at home (.285) than on the road (.226), so his road hitting clearly dragged down his numbers and needs to pick up.   It is too early, almost unfair, to set a ceiling on him, but to me, his 2019 production seems to speak to a ceiling as a utility player in the majors.