New York Mets Top 50 Prospects (2023)
https://www.prospects1500.com/nl-east/mets/new-york-mets-top-50-prospects-2023/?s=03
16. Jacob Reimer, 3B, 18, Rookie (FCL)
Reimer was drafted in the 4th round of the 2022 draft. His hitting and power are definitely his best tools with consistent hard contact. His plate approach is great and he shortens up with two strikes fairly well. In his 7 rookie games, he had 6 hits, 6 walks and only 3 strikeouts in 23 at bats. He played SS in high school but has moved to third and will be interesting to see if that changes during his rise through the organization.
Mack - Reimer was drafted straight out of high school. He played last season as an 18-year old. Projectd as a legitimate middle of the lineup power bat. Recorded a 6.87 60 after graduating. 88 arm from third. Yes, he is playing third now, but I see him potentially as a future Mets’ DH many moons from now.
2-6-23 - Keith Law's Top 20 Mets Prospects -
18. Willy Fanas, OF
Age: 19 | 6-2 | 190 pounds
Bats: Both | Throws: Right
International signing in 2022
Fanas didn’t homer in his pro debut in the DSL, but he does project to plus power along with above-average to plus speed. He’s still mostly projection but could end up with above-average or better tools in all five categories, including his glove in center.
New York Mets Top 50 Prospects (2023)
https://www.prospects1500.com/nl-east/mets/new-york-mets-top-50-prospects-2023/?s=03
17. Willy Fanas, OF, 18, Rookie (DSL)
Fanas, a member of the 2022 international signing class, debuted this year in the DSL. His early showing of athleticism helped him quickly rise up the system ranks. Fanas is still filling out and could be developed to have an above average power tool. Fañas has true 5 tool potential as a center fielder and a decent arm. He could give up some speed when filling out as well as a position change but this is an exciting case to watch as his development continues.
Mack - The Mets stole this guy from the Dodgers after they reneged on their deal they made with Fanas during the 2020/2021 international signing period. He actually sued the Dodgers for $17mil when he was 14-years old. The Mets stepped in and signed him for a $1.5mil bonus.
Willy will play 2023 as a 19-year old, so there is a good chance we will see him stateside this season.
MLB - Each team's No. 1 prospect in '25 will be ... -
Mets: Kevin Parada, C (No. 36)
New York hopes Francisco Álvarez can become its long-term catcher as early as this summer, and they have another potential option in the pipeline in last year’s No. 11 overall pick. With his ability to hit for both average and power from a premium position, Parada could be a quick mover toward Queens, but like Álvarez, he’ll need time to prove he can be an adequate defensive catcher before he reaches The Show, meaning he’s a safe bet to top the Mets’ Top 30 in two years.
2-6-23 - Keith Law's Top 20 Mets Prospects -
3. Kevin Parada, C (No. 44)
Age: 21 | 6-1 | 197 pounds
Bats: Right | Throws: Right
Drafted: No. 11 in 2022
Parada was one of the best college hitters in the 2022 draft class, hitting .361/.453/.709 for Georgia Tech and striking out in just 10.4 percent of his plate appearances, and he continued to get on base in his 13 games in pro ball after signing. He’s a bat-first catcher who has an unusual setup at the plate, holding the bat over his back shoulder like it’s a golf bag, but he gets the bat head to the zone on time, even against better stuff. I wouldn’t rule out someone trying to change that eventually, but for now, it works for him.
He made a lot of hard, loud contact, including 26 homers, tying him for sixth among all Division I players even though he faced good quality pitching in the ACC. Behind the plate he’s a bit rough, with some scouts questioning whether he’d stay at the position. He has a 55 arm and he’s fine blocking, but has trouble framing and some issues receiving better stuff. He’s a sneaky good athlete who has already improved substantially on defense since high school, and doesn’t have that much farther to go to be average-ish with the glove. His bat is the carrying tool, with high contact rates and the potential for 20-25 homers a year.
Mack - It will be interesting to see how the Mets handle this Alvarez/Parada situation. Neither will ever win a Gold Glove behind the plate, while Alvarez has higher power potention vs. Parada’s on base potential.
The Athletic - Bullpen Puzzle -
Is the bullpen puzzle complete, or is there room for another addition?
Will Sammon: The Mets never made an offer to lefty Andrew Chafin, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Before signing a one-year deal worth $5.5 million with a club option for 2024 with the Diamondbacks on Saturday, Chafin lingered on the market as the best available reliever. So if the Mets weren’t chasing Chafin, I’m willing to believe what I heard last month: If they were going to add, they preferred relievers with minor-league options remaining over experience.
Barring a trade or another waiver-wire move, the pickings for that particular reliever are slim.
Club officials have indicated they like their bullpen. Rival evaluators agree the Mets improved the group from last year. However, Mets general manager Billy Eppler said he likes to have five high-leverage relievers. Do they have that? They are carrying at least four: Edwin Díaz, David Robertson, Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley. After that, Drew Smith profiles as a high-leverage possibility. Maybe John Curtiss does, too. If the Mets carry an additional starter or long reliever, that leaves a host of names — Zach Greene, Tommy Hunter, Stephen Nogosek and others — battling for a spot or two.
Mack - I happen to think that the Mets fell short here. Should have signed a 5th top reliever. Scratching my head why they didn’t even look at Chafin, unless they knoew that he wouldn’t sign with anyone that wasn’t going to let him close this season.
The Athletic - Bowden: 10 MLB players I’m most excited to watch in spring training -
4. Kodai Senga, RHP, Mets
The Mets lost three key members of their rotation from last season when Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt and Taijuan Walker all departed in free agency. They replaced the trio with Justin Verlander, Senga and José Quintana, which in theory looks like a wash, and that’s good for the Mets, who won 100 games last year. Verlander is coming off his third Cy Young Award and Quintana is a solid fifth starter. Therefore, Senga, who signed a five-year, $75 million deal, could be the key to the Mets’ chances of winning the NL East or advancing in the playoffs as a wild-card team. I’ve never seen him pitch in person but have watched the video and he has velocity in the triple digits and a devastating splitter along with a cutter and slider. However, he also appears to have command and control issues at times, and major-league hitters are not going to chase his stuff out of the strike zone. I can’t wait to get a better gauge of his command and control this spring.
Mack - If I could drag my ass to one more home game, I would be at Citi for this guy’s first start this season.
From Jeff Passan on ESPN on September 8, 2022:
ReplyDelete“Two teenage baseball players are suing the Los Angeles Angels in a Dominican Republic court, alleging that the organization reneged on verbal agreements to sign them, a practice that has grown increasingly common amid a landscape with limited regulation by Major League Baseball.
At an Aug. 31 hearing, lawyers continued to argue the cases of Willy Fañas and Keiderson Pavon, who alleged in court filings that they agreed to deals with the Angels -- Fañas for $1.8 million when he was 14 years old and Pavon for $425,000 as a 15-year-old -- but that they were not honored following a change in the organization's front office.“
“Both agreed to deals with the Angels under Eppler, whom the Angels fired in September 2020, replacing him with Perry Minasian. That December, Minasian hired Brian Parker, a longtime scouting and player-development executive, to run the organization's international department. Three general managers acknowledged that a new front office taking over can lead to different evaluations of players and the potential for broken agreements.
"Only [the Angels] know the reason. They never provided one," said Jose Alfredo "Felo" Sanchez, a longtime trainer in the Dominican Republic who brought Fañas to his academy at 12 years old. "They just called to tell us they wouldn't honor the agreement. They didn't come see him, didn't do anything. They just said they wouldn't honor the agreement and that was it. No explanation, no anything."
Fañas' case illustrates the peril of early deals not coming to fruition. Because teams work out deals so far in advance, the amount of unaccounted money in other teams' bonus pools for the January 2021 signing period was minimal. Rather than signing for a lower bonus amount, Fañas waited until this year to sign and didn't debut for the Mets' Dominican Summer League affiliate until he was 18.
His talent left him fortunate enough to recover most of his expected bonus. Many players who don't sign at 16, though, are often disregarded by teams, seen as being too old, even at 17. Others, who seek loans upon coming to an agreement with teams, can find themselves in hazardous financial situations, owing significantly more money than they borrowed if deals are broken.”
So…Eppler helped us out here, without even knowing it?mGood to be lucky.
ReplyDeleteA classic Mack post - have missed these. Reimer looks exciting. Hopefully a statement season. Get him to St Lucie for a full season.
ReplyDeleteFanas hopefully will be real good. Agree with stateside - we should get him to the Complex League.
Britton? If he measures up, and wants 1 year with a team option? Ain’t my money.
Two All Star caliber catchers in 2025, with a DH to get them both 500+ plate appearances? Wow. Big competitive advantage to have the best hitting catcher position in baseball.
Tom
ReplyDeleteOne thing about Alvarez and Parada... neither one of these will ever win a gold Glove with a catcher's mitt on their left hand.
The selling process of making one a DH could possibly be made... and sold... to one of them.
A 20 HR DH is pretty good,but a 20 HR catcher is elite.
ReplyDeleteThey said even worse about Big Mike so there's promise but to me it's always about the same thing given their talent: how badly do they want it. It's a great "problem" to have.
ReplyDelete