There
still seems to be some major holes in the Mets minor league rosters that need
to be filled before the 2020 season starts.
The
starters are actually too filled. I have six penciled in on my Syracuse roster
(Harol Gonzalez, David Peterson, Franklyn Kilome, WalkerLockett, Corey Oswalt, Stephen Gonsalves) while Binghamton is spilling
over with seven (Thomas Szapucki, Tylor Megill, Kevin Smith,
Austin McGeorge, Tommy Wilson, Joe Shaw, Tony Dibrell). And this might
be conservative. Szapucki and Peterson could easily start off at the AAA level.
Relief
wise, both Syracuse (Ryley Gilliam, Matt Blackham,
Stephen Villines, Stephen Nogosek, Adonis Uceta) and Binghamton (Yeizo Campos, Darwin Ramos, Andrew Mitchell, Ezequiel
Zabaleta) are stacked with talent. There are plenty of fill in
candidates at both level. My favorites here are Gilliam and Mitchell.
Catcher
wise, my guess is Ali Sanchez will start in
Syracuse while Patrick Mazeika will back him up
when he isn’t playing first. Frankly, they need another backup there. My guess
is Austin Bossart. Binghamton will have Mitch Gelfi and Dan Rizzie.
They probably need a third there, but Nick Meyer is
just not ready for the leap.
First
base is fluid. Mazeika will get many of the reps in Syracuse, but he will also
share the catching duties with Sanchez. I really hope the Mets sign someone
like Travis Taijeron to split first with Patrick
and also act as the fifth outfielder… ‘Blue’ prospect JeremyVasquez will play Binghamton. He hit .277 in Florida last year, hitting
five home runs.
Regarding
second base, I have Luis Carpio in Syracuse and Carlos Cortes in Binghamton. Cortes clouted 11 homers
in Florida last season and we need to keep an eye on this emerging sign of
power. What I don’t have is subs for each team so someone has to either be
signed here or moved from another position.
Our
shortage of second baseman candidates might be found at short. I have Andres Gimenez and Max Moroff playing
Syracuse and Manny Rodriguez, Cody Bohanek, and Hansel Romeno in Binghamton. Talent wise, I expect
Gimenez and Romeno toto be our starters here.
On
third… there is plenty to work with in Syracuse. Michael
Paez and Will Toffey will fight it out
for the starting role. David Thompson has become
a AAAA player and either will hang on there as well or return to Binghamton as
backup to Blake Tiberi. There doesn’t seem to be anyone here that
will theaten to rise to Queens in the next two years. In the horizon… Mark Vientos and Brett Baty.
Regarding
outfield… I have only five in Syracuse right now. QuinnBrodey, Ryan Cordell, Tim Tebow, Jarrett Parker, and BraxtonLee. I have to say that I was hoping for more out of Brodey (AA: .251,
5-HR). Still, he will rise to Syracuse… I have Binghamton filled… the aging
prospect Wagner Lagrange, Jacob Zanon, Alfredo Escalera
Maldonado, Desmond Lindsay, and Matt Winaker.
5 comments:
While it's granted that not all prospects will rise to the top, it seems the Mets are once again banking on the distant future where their better players have not yet been hit the wall. As a result, the club will founder in the upper echelons, depending on the over-30 crowd against the low 20s players from other teams.
I know it is counterintuitive, but of the whole list, I think about the underdog...Desmond Lindsay. Can the forgotten man finally click?
Tom -
Lindsay still sticks around on many of the prospect lists.
He has the talent. 5 tool players always have it. They just can't apply it correctly.
Reese -
Things will change in 2023 when our lower level depth hits the ceiling.
Until then... I hope Mr. Cohen dishes out Tom Steyer type money to untra-talented free agents to fill slots.
We've still got a very young core at the ML level, with Cano and Yo the only positoon players significantly over 30, so I don't see significant holes opening in the next 2-3 years.
As for the need for a backup Catcher at AAA, I wonder why no one mentions Rene Rivera. He did a fine job at 'Cuse last year, and didn't embarrass himself when called up late in the season.
Has he retired, or is he just unwanted?
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