Good morning
The journey down
the road of my current analysis of Mets chain players, by position, now
continues with a jog to first base.
Not many pure
prospects here. Frankly, only one.
1B/OF Ryan Clifford –
21/yr old – 2022 11th rd. draft pick by Houston – 2022 signing bonus
out of HS: $1,256,530 –
2024 with
AA/A+: .228, .435-AB, 95-BB, 160-K
Clifford is projected more as a first baseman, but, if Pete Alonso extends, he easily can hold his own in all three-outfield position. Tom is right about this guy. If he doesn’t cut down on his K/AB% (36.78%), he’s going to have trouble at the MLB level.. So far this year… 43-AB, 9-BB, 1-HR, .233, .365-OBP
The Mets need to
do everything they can to get Clifford to the AAA level what with the different
balls, zones, veteran pitchers. The problem is he is blocked by the next guy
that isn’t a prospect, but, so far, is having a decent season in Syracuse.
1B/DH/RF Joey Meneses –
30/yr old – 2011 IFA $15k signing bonus by Braves – Career: 1.1-WAR:
.274/1,114-AB
So far this
season:
A solid fielder
at first, but a work in progress (that will never happen) in the outfield. Past
that, a DH.
Meneses is in
Syracuse in case Pete goes down. Nothing more. It’s nice that he’s hitting well
so far this season, but it’s all a bonus.
My guess is it is
going to take a sizable reduction of Clifford AA strikeouts to nudge this guy
out.
1B/3B/SS Trace Willhoite – 24/yrs old – Undrafted
free agent (Mets refused to even pay him the $10K you normally give to college
seniors. Obviously, the Mets considered this guy filler fodder. Tell that to
Trace.
The boy from Lipscomb College at A-St. Lucie, simply because this team needed a warm body to play there. All that Trace has done so far is 39-AB, 2-HR, 12-RBI, .231, .861-OPS.
A guy like Willhoite seems to have the
talent needed to wind up a perfect AAAA player in the upper levels of the
chain. Has always been considered an assety at first, so there’s that.
IMO, not a threat to the other listed
here, but what I great story it would be if I turned out to be wrong here.
Summation –
It’s 2025. There are five seasons before
the next decade kick in. Pete’s got this year down. Past that, this position is…
I hate this word… fluid. Sign Pete for 5-6 more years and we can save ink here.
Past Pete, this is Clifford’s job to
lose.
Rating – A-
Thomas Nestico @TJStats
AVG with
Runners in Scoring Position
Team ERA
vs OPS
Mets sign 20 of 23 picks in this year's Draft
https://www.mlb.com/news/mets-2023-draft-signings-tracker
CB-A
(32): Colin Houck, SS, Parkview HS (GA)
Pick
value: $2,607,500
Signing
bonus: $2,750,000
Houck,
18, was named the 2022-2023 Georgia Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year after
leading Parkview High School to the Class 7A State Finals in 2023. The Lilburn,
GA native batted .487 with eight home runs, 50 RBI, 16 stolen bases and posted
a .587 OBP this past season. The No. 12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and
the No. 21 prospect according to Baseball America, Houck became the fourth-ever
player from Parkview High School selected in the first round of the First-Year
Player Draft joining 12-year veteran OF Jeff Francouer (2002, 23rd overall),
All-Star 1B Matt Olson (2012, 47th overall) and INF Josh Hart (2013, 37th
overall).
The
6-foot-2, 195-pounder is also a three-star quarterback recruit and received
several offers from Power 5 programs after throwing for 2,189 yards and 24
touchdowns during his senior season. Prior to signing with the Mets, Houck was
committed to play baseball at Mississippi State.
"It's
a dream come true for sure," Houck said at Citi Field after signing.
Mets sign
20 of 23 picks in this year's Draft
https://www.mlb.com/news/mets-2023-draft-signings-tracker
2 (56): Brandon Sproat, RHP, Florida
Pick
value: $1,474,500
Signing
bonus: $1,474,500
Sproat,
22, was previously drafted by the Mets in the third round of the 2022
First-Year Player Draft. The No. 54 prospect by MLB Pipeline and the No. 56
prospect by ESPN, Sproat was a Second Team All-SEC selection in 2023 after
recording 134 strikeouts over 106.1 innings and held opposing batters to a .222
average. The Pace, FL native struck out 28 batters in four postseason starts
this year, including 14 over two starts in the College World Series. In 56
career games over four seasons at the University of Florida, Sproat went 19-8
with a 4.27 ERA (106 ER/223.2 IP) and 242 strikeouts.
The
6-foot-3, 215-pounder was the third Gator taken in the 2023 First-Year Player
Draft joining OF Wyatt Langford (fourth overall) and RHP Hurston Waldrep (24th
overall).
5 comments:
I think Chris Suero or Ronald Hernandez could get added to your list. Plus they can both also catch. Baseball America likes Clifford's arm. Maybe he ends up seeing some more time in the outfield. Also it would be interesting to look at Clifford's Ks. Are they Swinging or Looking. He takes a lot of walks, and sees a lot of pitches. I will take a look at those Ks.
Willhoite had the golden sombrero the other night, but he has been scrapping…good for him.
Clifford? I compare him unfavorably to a minor league Jarred Kelenic.
Kelenic, hitting .211 in his big league career, hit .295 with a K every 5 times up in the minors. Clifford is well short of that, at .244 with a K every 3.5 times up. He is also short on both those data points as compared to Kirk Nieuwenhuis. Kirk scuffled in the bigs, too.
True dat
I consider 2025 almost a do or die year for Cliff
To me, Willhoite is AAAA material
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