I find that I develop Mets Myopia during the season.
I love to follow our prospects and think the best of our best.
That said, there are objective measuring sticks for those players that come along as the calendar year proceeds, like 40 man roster decisions. It is interesting to see who is included (protected) and who is excluded and ponder why.
Three categories:
1) Mets prospects added;
2) Mets prospects excluded;
3) Outside prospects added.
1) IF/OF Mark Vientos, SS/OF(?) Ronny Mauricio, and RHPs Adam Oller and Jose Butto. All seemingly are no-brainers.
Vientos and Mauricio ought to become everyday major leaguers (and perhaps even future All Stars) in the not-too-distant future, and the Mets know it, and other teams know it also. If they were left exposed, they'd be gone in a flash.
And you've gotta protect pitchers you think will be useful assets, and Oller and Butto certainly fit that bill - both almost undoubtedly will hurl in 2022 for the New York Mets. Why? If for no other reason than they used 30+ pitchers in 2021. But I think both will be more-than-marginal Mets in 2022.
Also on the 40 mensch roster is OF Mark Payton. Turning 30 soon, and with just a handful of major league ABs, it seemed at first a curious add to the 40 man, but he has demonstrable talent.
He dazzled in AAA in 2019 (OK, in the PCL), with 30 doubles, 30 HRs and a .334 average in just 118 games. In 2021 with Syracuse, primarily, he hit a quality .293/.360/.462 in 75 games, and he does not fan a lot. A 5'8" lefty hitter with pop and some quickness who does not fan a whole lot. Hmmm... Whether he can translate that to the major league level remains to be seen.
2) Excluded were 4 AFL players - IF/OF Carlos Cortes, RHPs Colin Holderman and Brian Metoyer, and C Hayden Senger.
Cortes to me was the most surprising, as he started out scalding hot in AA in 2021, but then had a weaker, injury-impacted second half and mediocre AFL stint. My guess? Mets hope most teams see him as a season away from a 4th or 5th OF role on the major league level. I originally thought he'd be MLB ready in 2023, but 2024 is more likely a realistic timeframe, since Carlos has yet to play AAA ball.
Holderman has missed tons of time, and his AFL stint was not dominant, and Metoyer was alternately very good or terrible in his AFL outings. Both seem to need another sold, healthy season before 40 man protection is needed. Given how many pitchers the Mets use in a season, though, it is not beyond speculation that either or both could make his big league debut in 2022.
Senger is solid defensively and OK offensively, but it also seems his selection, even at an in-demand role like catcher, would be a year premature. Patrick Mazeika is ahead of him right now and was protected also. Mazeika, when not with the Mets in 2021, had a better AAA season than Senger had in AA.
Also excluded was Carlos Rincon, a slugger who hit in the .270s, with a pretty high K rate, in AA. My guess is the Mets feel he won't be MLB-ready until 2023, and then in a back up role, so no need to protect him now.
3) Recent arrivals and additions to the 40 man include Nick Plummer and Antonio Santos.
Plummer, yet another lefty OF bat, was a former 23rd overall pick in 2015 who, pre-pandemic, was frankly a complete failure, hitting under .200 with lots of Ks over 2015-19, getting no higher than A ball. He also missed 2016 altogether - not sure why.
In 2021, though, in AA and AAA, he was much improved, hitting .280/.415/.479. Strikeouts remained high but substantially improved, and like lefty-hitting Khalil Lee, Nick walked and got HBP a lot - 90 total times in 117 games. That production clearly puts the 25 year old Plummer ahead of (lefty, too) Carlos Cortes as of right now. He also brings more OF versatility than Cortes, as he has manned LF, CF, and RF.
Plummer's production should inspire Jaylen Palmer and Sherveyn Newton, two similarly athletic Mets' prospects with truly high K rates, that perhaps that flaw in their games, especially it seems with Palmer, could be fixed and make a future major league career a reality.
Antonio Santos has had a weak minor league career statistics, but the pitcher has had a few stints pitching for Colorado. The first time around, in 2020, he got hammered in limited innings. This past season, in less than 10 MLB innings, his BAA and OBP against both lefties and righties were solid, although he put up a weak season in the minors. So, it appears with some further enhancement, we are likely to see Santos in the Mets' pen, at least occasionally, in 2022.
That's my take. What's yours?
I'm expecting at least 40 men from our roster of readers to leave comments.
