Hi, again, people. How have your prospects been lately?
Hopefully Good.
It's re-run time, and today, I am re-running another of my Top 25 series written last fall.
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 (5th 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 2nd, 3rd, 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 36th 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.
Well, Sammy went elsewhere after this article, so I slid in speedy Johneshwy Fargas in his place.
(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 3rd 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.
10 comments:
I never understood the black cloud over Blackham's head. He's done nothing but succeed in his role and it's not as if the Mets didn't need some good arms in the pen. Granted, not everyone who excels in the minors -- Paul Sewald, for example -- can translate it at the next level, but to dismiss someone without even giving him the chance to try is simply ridiculous.
Reese, I agree. If Blackham was on a pitching-starved team like the Orioles, he no doubt would get major league pitching exposure. Maybe a lot of it.
Who was the pitcher that toiled in the minors for many years before he pitched well one year for the Mets? Name escapes me.
5'10" Blackham was Rule 5 eligible last year and did not get picked. People look at size and project from there. That's why 6'8" Junior Santos is on a lot of people's prospect lists despite going 0-5 with a 5.09 ERA in Kingsport last year while the 6'2" Reyson Santos 0-0 2.25 ERA is not on many lists.
Junior was only 17, though. And apparently high octane fastball.
It is not just height, since Blackham is 2-3 inches taller than Marcus Stroman.
Matt's control has always been a bit shaky - but he has only allowed 132 hits in 212 innings, so he sure seems tough to hit. 31 hits in 55 innings last year.
Lastly, his career WHIP is 20% better than Tyler Bashlor's minors WHIP.
Sure seems puzzling he didn't get picked in Rule 5. WHat are we missing?
Perhaps he is not a hard thrower? Those types don't usually get much attention.
Sure wish Matt Blackham had pitched in Syracuse's last game last year when they blew leads of 7-1 and 13-6. Brooks Pounders, Eric Hanhold, and Nick Rumblelow were the biggest perpetrators. The great thing is, now we can watch that game on MiLB as they have free streaming of all last year's games.
Reese, I think Blackham gets up to 95-96, maybe John has a better fix on him velocity-wise.
Watching the post- 9/11 Piazza homer game. Bruce Chen pitching. 11 teams in his 17 years. How did the other 19 pass on him?
Matt has above-avg velo, consistently at 94 w/ bumps to 95-96 at best. They say he does not have a lot of movement. He just turned 27 this past January. He deserves a chance.
Matt Blackham's good news is so many pitchers are needed by the Mets - some of last year's are gone. And if they have a compressed schedule, the need for him will increase.
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