MACK - MY WEDNESDAY OBSERVATIONS - MACK'S #19 Prospect/SP Franklin Gomez - Fish vs. Birds, Starlin Marte, LIDOM, Jarren Duran, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dylan Cease, 1927 Yankees

 

I promised all of you that, as soon as the season ended, I would breakout and post my current Top 30 prospects.

This is performance based, not players that came to the Mets full of promise but have only produced butterscotch pudding. A perfect example of a player that didn’t make this list is catcher Ronald Hernandez. I still like the guy, but based on what he did in 2025, I don’t like him “top 30 guy”.

Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat, and Jonah Tong are not on this list. They have graduated.

I will post them in each of my weekly Observations and In Focus posts… one player at a time… beginning with #30.

Today, we move to #19:

                         19.       SP             Franklin Gomez

21/yrs old in July             6-0          145         LHSP 

2025:     A/A+ - 20-G, 13-ST, 3-3, 2.76, 1.32, 71.2-IP, 34-BB, 68-K 

Franklin Gomez is a left-handed pitcher in the New York Mets' minor league system. Born on July 6, 2005, in Maracay, Venezuela, he is currently 20 years old, stands 6 feet tall, and weighs approximately 145 pounds. He is an active player in the Mets' organization, primarily assigned in 2025 to their High-A affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones

Gomez is a young prospect with limited professional experience, having been assigned to various Mets minor league teams, including the DSL Mets Blue, FCL Mets, St. Lucie Mets, and Brooklyn Cyclones. His career has been marked by some time on the injured list, notably in 2023 and 2024, but he has been activated and continues to develop in the Mets' system. 

Gomez is not currently ranked among the Mets' top prospects by major scouting outlets like MLB Pipeline, but his youth and raw talent suggest potential for growth. His assignments across different levels indicate the Mets are gradually building his experience. 

Secondary Pitches: Young pitchers like Gomez often work on developing at least one breaking ball (e.g., slider or curveball) and a changeup to complement their fastball. Given his minor league assignments and development stage, he is likely refining these pitches to improve his ability to generate swings and misses. The lack of specific pitch data suggests he is still in the early stages of establishing a consistent repertoire.

Gomez’s scouting reports do not highlight exceptional control or a fully developed pitch mix, which is typical for a pitcher of his age and experience level. His focus in the minors is likely on improving strike-throwing and pitch consistency. 

MACK – 

You have to love this guy to love this guy. And I love what he did this past season for St. Lucie (14-G, 7-ST, 1.85, 1.09). 

Like more pitchers his age, he did struggle at the next level, which is where I expect him to return to for the beginning of the 2026 season.

Jay Cuda                              @JayCuda

all fish team vs. all bird team

 

Starling Marte

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6752611/2025/10/27/mets-free-agent-starling-marte-cedric-mullins/

At 37 years old and after dealing with various lower-body injuries, Marte’s most productive days are behind him. However, he showed in 2025 that he can help as a role player, someone who could come off the bench and appear as a designated hitter. In the final season of his four-year, $78 million contract with the New York Mets, Marte hit nine home runs with a .745 OPS (111 OPS+) in 329 plate appearances. He played in 98 games, his highest total since 2022.

Sarah Langs                        @SlangsOnSports

Eloy first LIDOM game since 2019

 

Should the New York Mets trade for Jarren Duran?

LINK

Simply put, New York is still looking for an answer in center field. At the same time over in Boston, the Red Sox are dealing with a surplus of young outfielders and are expected to make at least one of them available in a trade this offseason. The most likely of the bunch is 29-year-old speedster Jarren Duran.

Why Jarren Duran could be the perfect fit for the Mets

In an October 27 episode of SNY's Baseball Night in New York, Emmanuel Berbari was emphatic about the potential fit of Duran in New York.

"I don't see any reason why this doesn't work," Berbari said. "And it balances out some of the thunder in the middle of the Mets order. Sign me up."

Duran has been one of Boston's best and most electrifying players since breaking into the everyday lineup in 2023. During his 2024 All-Star campaign, he slashed .285/.342/.492 while slugging 21 homers, stealing 34 bases, and notching a league-best 14 triples.

 

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

https://fansided.com/mlb/these-4-teams-whiffed-on-yamamoto-and-they-re-kicking-themselves-after-game-2

While they ultimately fell a few million short, Steve Cohen and David Stearns were very invested in Yamamoto entering the 2023-24 offseason. Both men went to Japan to scout and meet Yamamoto in person during the NPB season. They established relationships with those close to him, including his agency, and none of it meant a damn in the end.

"I think the whole organization tried our hardest, and someone was going to win and someone was going to lose and that is the way it goes," Cohen told the New York Post after Yamamoto signed in LA. "I feel good about our efforts and I left it all on the field. Life goes on."

The Mets finished fourth in the NL East the previous season despite their $346 million payroll. While New York had to feel good about its farm system at the time, the rotation was a sore spot then and remains so to this day. If a few million was what came in the way of Yamamoto becoming the next Mets ace, it looks awfully silly given they signed Juan Soto to a $765 million deal the following winter.

 

Dylan Cease

LINK

That $187 million may feel like a lot, but when you look at similar contracts like Tyler Glasnow and Carlos Rodon, it feels like an accurate price.

San Diego should be labeled the frontrunner to retain Cease, but the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets get brought up in Bowden's article, and seem like logical organizations that might open up the checkbook for Cease. The 29-year-old starter has essentially made the maximum number of starts a starter can have in the last five seasons, and has five straight seasons of 200+ strikeouts.

However, his ERA was slightly inflated this season at 4.55, and is prone to walking a few too many batters. This season, Cease led the NL in strikeouts per nine innings, but also walked nearly 4.0 batters in the same category.

The Mets are expected to be big spenders in free agency this offseason, and Atlanta is desperate for starting pitching help.  This free agency case will likely end in a bidding war.

Cease's contract negotiations will also be a good measuring stick for where the starting pitcher market lies during hot stove season.4 

 

Jim Koenigsberger                          @Jimfrombaseball

"We won the World Series before it even got started. The Pirates were the other club, and the first two games were scheduled for Forbes Field. Naturally we showed up a day early and worked out in the strange park, and we won the Series during that workout. We really put on a show. Lou and I banged ball after ball into the right field stands, and I finally knocked one out of the park in right center. Bob Meusel and Tony Lazzeri kept hammering balls into the left field seats. One by one, the Pirates got up and left the park. Some of them were shaking their heads when we last saw them."

Babe Ruth

"The Pirates watched us take batting practice before the first game. Ruth, Gehrig and Meusel kept hitting ball after ball out of the park. The Pirates were beaten before they started."

Mark Koenig.

1927 New York Yankees

The 1927 New York Yankees, in a program for the 1927 World Series between the Yankees and the Pittsburgh Pirates.