Tom Brennan: Mets DSL Teams Launched for 2025; Mets Starters' Excellence; And Jeff McNeil Declining? Or Ready to Start Shining?

 

The Two Mets DSL Teams’ Launched for 2025 Yesterday

If you felt something monumental yesterday at 11 AM, it might have been this:

The youngest kiddies this side of kindergarten have started playing official professional baseball games in the DSL.  

I understand that several of them are actually already shaving, too.

One of the DSL Mets Orange team players was born 6/24/08. In other words, he turns 17 in 3 weeks.  

Not to be outdone, the DSL Blue Mets have Cesar Acosta as a catcher, and he turns 17 in 2 months.  

What were YOU the reader doing at age 16 and 10 months?  

 - I was starting my senior year in high school.

Season openers for the 2 Mets squads (Orange and Blue) on Monday:

Peña’s team won, scoring 8 runs on 8 hits and 5 errors. 

The other squad scored one run on 6 hits and 5 walks in a loss.

I like the 8 run team better than the one run team. Why? I like runs.

These 2025 squads surely hope to perform better than last year’s teams. 

The “Orange” in 2024 went 27-27, and the “Blue” finished at 21-33, making the two teams a combined 48-60 (.444) last year.

Elian Pena, the Mets' first $5 million international bonus baby, who will turn 18 in October, is now officially on the clock.  He has quite the lofty expectations.  He was 0 for 2 with a HBP, 2 runs scored, and a steal in his first pro game.

Frankly, aside from him, I have seen so many DSL hitters and pitchers who manage to do well enough in the DSL never make it out of the DSL, or they do make it stateside but sputter in the FCL.

No one expects Pena to sputter.  We all expect him to soar.

As for the other laddies, I will let the players themselves dictate which of them might warrant our future attention due to their hitting and pitching performances this season.  Sorry that I am not adding more than that here.  Too unpredictable.

For almost everyone not named Pena, that is. He is a future star in gestation.

it is too early to say much about all the others’ career projections.

METS TOP 5 STARTERS, THRU SATURDAY?

55 games started by Megill, Peterson, Canning, Holmes, and Senga, just 22 HRs allowed, and 296 Ks in 292 IP.  

And we should force Francois Montas into the rotation soon because....?

NO EXCUSES

When you start trying to make excuses for your favorite struggling Mets hitters, like "maybe it's the tough pitching", remember these 2 things:

1) the Mets hitters don't have to face the best-in-baseball Mets pitching staff.

2) on Saturday, the Dodgers, Brewers and Rays combined for 51 runs on 62 hits.  

Proving that hitting can happen in abundance with hitters who HIT and don’t have to face the very best pitching.

VALUABLE IS THIS…

PER SNY: “The Mets have won 26 consecutive games in which Francisco Lindor hits a home run. Their last loss in a game where Lindor homered was on July 3 of last year.”

And let me add that Pete Alonso’s HRs have been incredibly timely this year, many launched when his team was trailing and with men on base. 46 RBIs in 59 games…where would they be without him?

JEFF MCNEIL NOT IMMUNE FROM AGE-RELATED DECLINE?

Remarkably, Jeff McNeil is in his 8th Mets season.  

He is 16 years older than Elian Pena, just for perspective.

Where, Mack and Ray, does the time go?

Jeff's batting averages his first 3 seasons - and of course in his year 5 MLB batting champ season in 2022 - were great.  

His last 3 years (2023-25, ages 31-33) have shown apparent significant decline, especially in BABIP.  

Through Sunday May 24:

 - His first 3 years' BABIP? .359/.337/.335

 - His last 3 years' BABIP? .288/.256/.232

That tells me, at least, that he's likely lost a step.

Maybe the bat's a tad slower, too.

His hard hit % his first 2 seasons? A robust 32% and 38%.

His hard hit % his 2024/25 seasons? 31% and 27.6% this year.  

May he shrug off 2025 downwards stats to date in 2025 (1/3 of the way through the season, and which included an injury) and get blistering hot like he did in 2022, and, why the heck not, win another NL batting title.  Nearly professional grade golfers know where to place struck baseballs, after all. 

He did bump his #s up to .244/.358/.474 this year in 28 games, so perhaps he will prove he is not in decline at all. Just 9 Ks in 95 PAs is another sign of non-decline.

DAVID VILLAR

Another baseball veteran with a little MLB experience.  The Giants DFA’d him, and the Mets then signed him and put him in AAA. The 28 y/o was 4 for 20 with 4 walks with the Giants.

In 76 AAA PAs for Giants and Syracuse, he is hitting .361 with a .476 OBP. 

In his 335 MLB career ABs, .200/.292/.391. First baseman/3rd baseman.

WELCOME, AND BEST OF LUCK.

METS/DODGERS GAME 1. METS WIN!!

WEST COAST GAME!  Too late for me, friends. 

Blackburn’s first Mets outing of 2025, FYI. It was a 5 inning, no run beauty. Apparently, he changed the grips of all his pitches and his pitch mix. Wow. 

The game went extras, tied 2-2. Edwin blew the 2-1 lead on a sac fly by, yeah, Ohtani. It was almost a 3 run HR to left.  A few feet short. Freak.

The Mets scored 2 in the top of the 10th, the Dodgers just one, for a 4-3 playoff type win. Lindor and Ohtani homered. Conforto oh fer, hitting .170. Hyesong Kim hitting .420? He went 2-4.  21 for 50. Just what the Dodgers need, adding a guy hitting .420.

Let me know what you thought of the game.