Tom Brennan - Age-Focused FCL Hitter Perspective; Jett Soars

The FCL League's Biggest Fan - the Mets Guppy - is Smiling Down in St Lucie Fla.

A few years back, above the 2 DSL teams, but below the top 4 minor league teams (AAA, AA, High A, and A), there were 3 farm teams: 

Rookie (NY Penn League), Kingsport (Appalachian) and Gulf Coast League Mets.

Those 3 have been condensed down into one, so the level of play has to be fairly close to what the NY Penn League was a few years ago, before it was zapped.  Or at least at the Kingsport level.

The zapping had to do with "business" - dropping 2 teams ought to have minimal if any impact on prospects in an organization who actually are good enough to reach the majors.  Rare indeed would be a player not considered in the top half of that 3 team rookie prospect contingent who makes a sudden surge and reaches the majors someday.

"Rudy" may happen in football, but not in baseball.  You're good, you climb - but most don't climb far.

The current single team is the Florida Coast League Mets, a challenging league to young youngsters without doubt. And a winning team this season.

So, a Willy Fanas, an outfielder in the FCL, is 19.5 years old who is picking up steam, raising his FCL average up above .250 as I write this on August 17.  Decent level of achievement at that age.

OF Simon Juan, the biggest money international Mets signing of 2022, is not doing as well, hitting a low-powered .217.  But keep this in mind - he just turned 18 in July, so maybe he'll click by this time next year and be a St. Lucie Class A ball terror by mid 2024, as he turns 19. Can’t say he’s worse than a 19 year old…let’s see him mature another year. Wilfredo Lara at 18 in 2022 hit like the 18 year old Juan this year. The 19 year old Lara is hitting far better this year than he hit in the lower FCL last year. Moving along…

Recently acquired Marco Vargas just turned 18 in May, so he is just 2 months older than Juan, yet in he has a .435 OBP (4th highest in the FCL) with his 2 FCL teams this year, so the 6'0" 2B seems like a real contender to soar, as having such a high OBP at such a young age in this league is amazing. (I also hear Marco plays Polo. No, not really).

Switch hitting catcher Ronald Hernandez, who will turn 20 in 2 months, has a remarkable .480 OBP this season, the highest in the FCL.  And 34 RBIs in 42 games. Very eye-catching for the 5'11" Hernandez.

Two other catchers, named Lantigua and Suero, are both about 19.5 years old and in a combined 115 plate appearances had a .410 OBP.

Colin Houck was the Mets' top draft pick, and only recently went pro, but the 18 year old has shown a good eye in his first several games.  No doubt he will rise quickly. 

SS Jesus Baez is 18.5 years old and has struggled like Juan this year, and after the deadline trade acquisitions and the recent draft, he has tons of competition.

The entire FCL league's batting leader is hitting "just" .344, another indicator this is a tough league.

But a wild one, too, as the Mets hitters had walked 267 times in 47 games (a little under 6 times per game).  

So the players' higher OBPs need to be taken a bit with a grain of salt.

And not a well-pitched league: their 254 runs in 47 games sounds high, but it slots them at 11th highest.  The Yanks of course are first, with 83 more runs scored in 4 more (51) games.

Good to note, though, that Mets' hitters have been HBP "only" 31 times - the league-leading team has been nailed 68 times. Ouch! Wear armor.

I do not know how young this Mets team is, relative to other org's teams, but this team is clearly young, as all the guys noted above range from just turned 18 to 19.5 or so.

And with the recent additions of Hernandez, Vargas, Houck, and McLean, suddenly far more potent.

Still, the jump to the next level can still be steep….

Yohairo Cuevas, 19, had a .444 OBP with the FCL Mets, got promoted earlier this season to St Lucie, and in his first 9 games there, was just 4 for 35.

So that is a little sneak peak at several neophytes.

Pitching-wise, the FCL Mets have the 3rd best ERA at 4.42 (Rays 3.75), with 2 of the 15 squads above 6.00.

Why is age key when considering a player's FCL output? 

The runaway leader in HRs in the FCL league is a big first baseman for Philly named Dakota Kutowski, with 14 in 39 games (wow) - but he is 23, quite old for this league for sure.

 (The entire Mets team had just 23 dingers).

But…just keep in mind that Wilfredo Lara, of whom I wrote about on Monday, is having a fine 2023 a league higher in the Florida State League, and he is just 19 years, 4 months old. 

The competition to get to Queens someday is keen indeed.

A day at a time. Work hard. Get stronger.

Anyway…Adios. No, wait just a sec…

The DSL, age-wise, just as a side note?

Mets DSL slugger Julio Zayas is 17.5 years old which Baseball Reference says is 0.7 years younger than the league, so that would make the DSL players on average 18.2 years old as the season draws close to its conclusion. 

Man, that’s a young league.

JETT IS TAKING OFF:

Jett Williams is, simply put, killing it in Brooklyn. 

In his first 20 Cyclones games, .343/.483/.629.  

Wow. Stunning.

Tearing it up in a place most hitters struggle in.

His 40 steals in 99 total games in 2023 are close (on a steals-per-game basis) to a Ronald Acuna pace, too. 

He’s just 19, turns 20 in November.

He truly may be another Trea Turner. 

Maybe he actually is the Mets’ best prospect.

Maybe he will be an opening day position player for the Mets in April 2025.

After all, Jetts in motion move up fast.

Or…heck…call him up right now. 

This Jett is on its final approach and ready to land at LaGuardia.

Seriously, though: 

Brooklyn’s season ends September 10, but Binghamton’s ends a week later on September 17 and Syracuse’s ends a week later on September 24. Why not let Jett play the week after Brooklyn’s season ends in Binghamton, and the week after that in Syracuse? His .470 OBP in Brooklyn shows the 19 year old can handle more than High A right now, regardless of his age.

ORDER IN NYC IS RESTORED:

Of late:

Mets winning, and Yanks crashing? The heavens are out of alignment.

So, last night, realignment occurred:

1) The Mets were dominated and crushed by Atlanta 7-0, while Jose Quintanta’s magic number (wins as a Met) remains at 1. His win total after 2019 (7 in 4 seasons) matched the Braves run total. 

Normalcy restored.

2) Judge hits 3 HRs in a Yanks win. 

Normalcy restored.

Excellent Mets draft pick a step closer.

ELSEWHERE:

Tyler Stuart tossed 6 tidy shutout innings for Binghamton last night. Nice. 

In Syracuse, 14 runs allowed amongst several would-be pitchers. Eric Orze was unscored on in 1/3 of an inning, which made us all feel better about the night.  

Luisangel Acuna had 3 singles last night, as he is righting his Mets ship (.240).

Parada swoon continues, as he was 1 for 6, 4 Ks in a 12-2 Brooklyn win. Send him toTomas Nido’s eye doctor pronto.

Our Jeff McNeil clone Rhylan Thomas walked 4 times, continuing his August OBP tear. Recent acquisition Ryan Clifford meanwhile walked 3 times and now has 11 walks and 32 Ks in his 17 games with the Cyclones.  Thomas by comparison has fanned just 4 times in 17 August games.

There you have some snippets.