The second half of spring training is always a very important time for baseball prospects. They are in the home stretch of showing what they can do, and many are close to being assigned to the team that they will break camp with – whether that is an MLB team or a minors affiliate.
As you have seen from our weekday 11am posts, there are many prospects working their way up through the system. We recently had a great opportunity to see some of the most compelling prospects showcase their talents in the Spring Breakout Game, where the Mets and the Nationals participated in a contest between their brightest future stars.
The stars were indeed bright for the Mets, who prevailed in the game 4-2. The starting outfield included Drew Gilbert in right, Jett Williams in center, and Alex Ramirez in left. That’s right, Jett Williams was playing center, not a middle infield position for this showcase game.
Some folks, including writers on this site have speculated that he could move there because of his speed and versatility. Apparently great minds think alike! The infield was loaded with talent as well, with Ryan Clifford, Marco Vargas, LuisAngel Acuna, and Jesus Baez showing what they could do.
To me, the stand-outs were Ryan Clifford who powered an opposite field double to drive in a run in the first and also scored one in the fourth; and the pitching. Dom Hamel, Tyler Stuart, Blade Tidwell, Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Calvin Ziegler all spent time on the hill and pitched well. To me, I was really impressed with the ease that Sproat and Ziegler threw with. They are both coming up from lower minors levels and Sproat was throwing consistently at 98/99MPH. Both fanned two in scoreless innings.
Before and after the Breakout game, the Media duo from the Binghamton Rumble Ponies Jacob Wilkins and Matt Levine had a chance to interview some of the prospects. Jacob was kind enough to share those interviews with the Mack’s Mets group so I include them below with a big thank you to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies!
Here are a few of the interviews with the players. We will include a series of the interviews with a link on the home page so you can get a feel for some of our future Mets.
Tyler Stuart played in both Brooklyn and Binghamton last year, recording a perfect 4-0 record with a 1.55 ERA before being moved up to AA. He is a 6’9” 250 pound right-hander that was selected by the Mets in the sixth round of the 2022 draft.
Tyler
Stuart Spring Training Interview.mp4
Rhylan Thomas played at three levels last year as an outfielder and won the defensive player of the year award in the Mets’ minor league system. Rhylan was a defensive standout last year and has very good speed which he put to use in the Spring Breakout game with an impressive dash from first to third on a base hit to center. Thomas has put on 12 pounds of muscle in the off-season so look for more athleticism from him this year.
Rhylan
Thomas Spring Training Interview.mp4
Blade Tidwell also played in Brooklyn and Binghamton last season. The 22-year old pitcher has always impressed me with his competitiveness on the mound. He is at his best when runners are in scoring position. Tidwell played his college ball at Tennessee where he was teammates with Drew Gilbert.
9 comments:
Thank you for featuring these here today.
Mack's Mets got good stuff.
It was a really promising game, well-recapped in optimism here. I loved the 17-19 year olds looking good against the Nats top prospects.
The future looks bright.
Loved the Rhylan Thomas mini-interview. Keep adding the muscle mass and be a valuable back up Mets OF by 2025
I really liked the concept of the Breakout game, and the game itself. I wonder who selected the roster for the Mets team, an individual or a committee. I was surprised that Nate Lavended and others were not on the team. On the plus side, I was impressed that a 17 y.o. kid did get a spot.
Have our minor league teams been playing vs other organizations' teams? If so are there any reports available about which of our kids have stood out so far?
You're doing a great job with this series of profiles, Paul. I look forward to them esch morning.
Bill, maybe it’s a scouting point why AAA pitchers weren’t available to play? Too, I wouldn’t want to expose my prospects to prospect games. They will play against their level of competition soon enough.
Bill, I was at the spring training complex last week and went to watch an afternoon BP that was scheduled. In an unscheduled move, the Mets invited the entire Marlins' minor rosters over and played three simultaneous games on the back fields - an A level, AA level, and AAA level game. I'm sure that is not the only time it has happened this spring. They just don't publicize or post any post-game results since it is for their own developmental purposes.
That makes sense. I wonder if that's just a Mets policy or a rule of the series. Yet our AAA players do play ST games vs other teams' AAAs.
I understand their not publicizing the stats, but I would expect scouts to be there and offer opinions.
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