How are the best performer doing (and the not-so-hot)?
Many minors guys are not hot, but some are red hot. Some unfortunately are ice cold.
Here are some of them (stats thru Wednesday):
AAA
Veteran Ben Gamel (.321/.440/.605 in 25 games) has been consistently hot.
- Star prospect LuisAngel Acuna has been not so hot at .216/.266/.353
5’8” Rylan Bannon (28 years old) leads the squad with 6 HRs. Might without height.
- Yolmer Sanchez .164 is not good, and Kohlwey was .088 when he was released.
Joey Lucchesi has a stellar 2.25 ERA in 32 innings. 4th lowest in his 20 team league.
- better than ERAs of touted teammates Scott (3.20), Hamel (5.16), and Vasil (10.91).
NO MATTER, THO’, CHRISTIAN SCOTT WILL START FOR THE METS SATURDAY.
- Fujinami, the $3.35 million man? 5.2 IP, 13 runs, 13 walks, 2 HBP? Sayonara?
Mets just got rid of Zach Short, but still have Wendle who declined last year and has one RBI and a .207 average for the Mets. Unsatisfactory.
If I were David Stearns, I would absolutely, and without delay, trade or release Wendle and call up Jose Iglesias. Jose in AAA has 5 HR, 15 RBI in 78 AB, .308, 9 game hit streak, and no errors at short and second over 20 games.
Wendle was a decent major leaguer in 2020-22, but dropped sharply to .212 last year, with a poor OBP.
Iglesias on the other hand is a career .279 MLB hitter with excellent fielding. Do it ASAP. Call up Iggy.
AA
Matt Rudick homered 6 games back, waking his totally comatose bat up, and the last 5 games after that, he has scorched with 10 hits and 3 walks. Matt is back to early 2023 Siper Duper Fuego Status.
Alex Ramirez .309 with a homer and 12 RBIs and steals in 21 games.
Jose Peroza .302 in 53 at bats.
Blade Tidwell 1.69 ERA, with 27 Ks in 21 innings.
Reliever Wilkin Ramos 11.1 IP, 0.00, 11 Ks.
- C Kevin Parada is 12 for 66 (.182). Colder than the weather. I would bat him lead off, to get him as many ABs as possible. Why? The NY Mets desperately need functional hitting catchers, given that Narvaez/Nido are 10 for 56 and 3 walks, and Hayden Senger is 3 for 36, and has forgotten how to hit since 2022.
- Jaylen Palmer 1 for 17, with 12 Ks. Avoids contact, but Mets play him nonetheless.
- Jeremiah Jackson .176/.256/.270 in 20 games, 24 Ks. Is he in the process of demonstrating he is not good enough?
- Tyler Stuart 4.58 ERA. Expected better in AA.
Joander Suarez went 6.1 IP Thursday, allowing NO HITS and fanning 7. 2.60 ERA.
High A
Nolan McLean has fanned 20 times in 40 PAs, but has been a friggin’ beast in the other 20 PAs: a single, 5 doubles, 3 HRs and 3 walks! His HRs invoke fond rocket launch memories of Dave Kingman. He also has aWHIP of 1.00 and a K per inning over his 14 IP. INTRIGUING GUY.
I am not as concerned about his hitting-related strikeouts, as I might normally be, because as a hitter, he would most certainly only be assigned to a lower level like St. Lucie. However, because of his pitching prowess, he was assigned to high A Brooklyn, where many more seasoned hitters struggle. So, I am duly impressed by his hitting so far, and fervently hope that the strikeouts can be reduced substantially. The power is electric.
Ryan Clifford started slowly, but he has been on base with 22 walks (and 29 Ks) in 22 games, with a .432 OBP. Just 1 HR and 4 doubles, as the slugger has likely realized his power will be neutered in Brooklyn hitting conditions - smart.
1B Nick Lorusso is one to WATCH….295/.375/.541 and just 10 Ks in 17 games. He is outhitting his AA 1B counterpart, JD Schwartz (.237).
C Drake Osborn .359/.479/.548 in 13 games. Much improved.
- Many Cyclones are cold to frigid and fan a lot (Consuegra, Lugo, Tilien, De Los Santos).
Doug Orellana, Justin Lawson, and Josh Cornielly have been strong in relief. Jordany Ventura 20 Ks in 14 relief innings, so he finally seems to be rising.
Jordan Geber and Dakota Hawkins strong in a starter role. Brandon Sproat turning heads with a 1.23 ERA so far. He may be a fast riser.
Calvin Ziegler was dynamite for 6 innings, then Tommy John came knocking. So sad.
A Ball
Nick Morabito (.391) and Chris Suero (.318) were on base 5 more times Wednesday. Morabito has a .528 OBP, and Suero already has 15 RBIs. (Early in Thursday’s game, Morabito (pictured above) drove in 2 runs with 3 more hits in 4 ABs Thursday.
Pay attention here.
Morabito is now hitting .411/.538/.534! Which, for average and OBP, are light years ahead of any other player in the FSL.
And the speedster added 2 more steals (11).
Morabito started the season at 8 for 30 (.267) but with 9 walks. At that point in mid-April, he had a .450 OBP. Nothing wrong with that, right?
SINCE THEN? 22 for 43, with 8 walks. .600 OBP. Unconscious.
I know he’s just in St Lucie, but I will go out on a limb here.
He is now my top offensive Mets prospect in the system, ahead of Jett, Gilbert, and Acuna.
*** Get Morabito up to Brooklyn ASAP ***
Marco Vargas just 4 games, but with 4 hits and 4 walks and 4 runs scored. Limited, but impressive, results. Career .427 OBP. Play the lad more - you’ll be glad more.
SS Jesus Baez hitting 256, but just 9 Ks in 100 PAs is very promising. (He added a single and a 411 foot HR in his first two ABs Thursday).
- Cold hitter, until Wednesday, was 1st rounder Colin Houck, but he had 3 hits and a walk, getting his average up to .200 on its journey to (much) higher places. He added 2 hits and 3 RBIs and a walk on Thursday to prove the point.
- C Ronald Hernandez just .200 also, but 18 walks in 20 games give him a solid .360 OBP. I bet his OBP is over .400 at season’s end. (2 for 2 to start Thursday’s game).
Jonah Tong?
Dudes, he has earned the moniker Tong Terrific after his simply stunning pitching, and has deservedly been promoted to Brooklyn. Where, he was again terrific on Thursday. As in 5 innings, no earned runs, 7 Ks. Terrific.
Messrs. Troesser, Wenninger, Morris and Hudepohl have all been pitching well and have been fanning lots of batters. May it so continue.
Jawilme Ramirez has been fine, as he has allowed just 2 runs on 6 hits in 13 relief innings and fanned 15. To my knowledge, he is the first Jawilme in pro baseball.
I’ll leave it there. Stat’s all, folks.
FCL ball starts on Saturday. What does that mean? More stats!
PETE ALONSO, IRON MAN? OR OVERWORKED MACHINE?
Pete Alonso always wants to play. ALWAYS. Every inning, every game.
First, he is a fierce competitor.
Second, you can’t hit homers or drive in runs on the bench.
But he is 1 for 24 over his last 8 games. Down to .218. After .217 last year.
As I see it from my cozy armchair?
It is OK to sit once in a while, rest up, and just pinch hit. It really is.
So…sit a game a month. You’re not hitting 60 HRs this year, and 50 is a long shot. But, if you get worn down, hitting under .200 may not be a long shot.
22 comments:
Always great stuff Tom but wouldn't it be nice (great Beach Boys tune) if our much hyped "top prospects" would really start to shine soon because it's very disappointing. The big club has held it's own but, and there's always a but, the big guys for the most part hurt us big time on this homestand as we could be at least 5 games over .500 but here we are so maybe the road will get our bats going.
Tom - Morabito your number one prospect? Where is the power you always are writing about? LOL
I do not like to see the Mets rush the players up to the next level. Therefore, I have concerns about the quick promotion of Scott for tomorrow's game. And I believe I wrote earlier, don't rush Morabito. I admit I may have been in error. He needs to be moved up. Have been a fan of his since day one.
Gary, Pete gets that hand on the plate Wednesday…
Steve, I look at speed and power jointly. A guy who hits 15 HRs but 40 doubles and 50 steals vs. 40 HRs, 20 doubles and no steals? Toss up. The super fleet Morabito hit .306 last year, and seems to be showing elite base hit skills this year. It seems far more than a hot streak. I expect him to add power. I like the hi average approach now.
Maybe he is soon our Ichiro? We can dream. Of course, he doesn’t have Ichiro’s arm.
FYI - Tonkin pitched 2 perfect innings for THE YANKS yesterday. LOL
Weather anomaly: 68 degrees right now in Syracuse, and just 16 on south shore of LI
25 "qualified" (enough ABs) major league hitters are batting under .200. The next 25 are batting .218 or less. MANY of them are "big name" hitters. Lindor is # 32 worst, making major upward progress. Nimmo is # 42.
This brings me back to Schwarber. He has 48 Ks and 8 HRs in 32 games and is hitting .211. Those numbers are at a typical pace for him. I believe Vientos can do better.
Tom,
We appreciate the minor league reports. Thanks. Gives us something to hopefully look forward to in 2025-2026 when some of these prospects make the majors.
I still don't see how the ump, positioned behind the catcher, could even see Pete's hand.
After he blew a save and took the loss the night before.
Thanks for another great update. I like everything about Morabito's stats, but it's a bit early to proclaim him #1. If A-Ram keeps going, he may earn that spot.
One problem I haven't seen mentioned anywhere is the need for a LHRP to replace Raley. It obviously can't be Lavender. Could Joey Lucchesi fill the role, or does Stearns have to look outside the org? Maybe Wendle could bring one in trade, opening a spot for Joey Churches (who I agree deserves a spot)?
Rudick has been running hot and cold. .232 average but also has four multi-hit games.
Must be the weather.
I made a similar comment on Reese's article below. Yes Vientos may strike out a lot, but would I take it if he hit 30 homers? Sure would. I called him the Mets answer to Schwarber
Wendle needs to go and bring up Iglesias. His car career numbers are better than Wendle. He's a better all around player
Jon G I would love to see Iglesias called up today. No doubt he would too.
Jon G, I think Vientos in some upcoming season could hit 40. Why? He can go deep to the opposite field easily with his power.
Bill, I hear ya, but I’m going Morabito, who was a 75th overall out of HS. (Vientos was # 59).
Tom,
Morabito has been named Florida State League player of the month. Looks like the league is as impressed as you are. A possible promotion over the next few weeks?
Nick is due for a promotion.
D J and Ray, I'd promote him today if I had my way.
16° on Long Island?
Somebody better show some Tong Love. Tong is at 23.2 IP, 43 Ks, 0.00, 0.72 WHIP, which sounds like baseball's best start in 2024 to me. At this rate, he might be pitching for the Mets in the playoffs this year (now, even I don't foresee that LOL).
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