Tom Brennan: Power Equity; Over-Familiarity Breeds Contempt; The Tales of Omar

Ryan Clifford - Power Supreme?

POWER EQUITY

OK, which of these three prospects hit the most homers in 2025?

Jett Williams, Carson Benge, Jacob Reimer.

As Marisa Tomei once said, “I can’t answer that. It’s a trick question.”

Each of the three, you see, clocked 17 homers in 2025.  Well, I am fudging a tad here.

Benge actually didn’t, he socked only 15, but undoubtedly would have hit 2 more in September had he not gotten hurt by a HBP.

And, in 2024’s brief debut and in 2025 combined, he hit 17 HRs in 496 at bats.

Ryan Clifford meanwhile was the power champ in the Mets minors, with 29 HRs and 93 RBIs.  I am sure glad he didn’t hit just 17.  Had he not walked a high 85 times in his 139 games, he would have eclipsed 30 HRs.  Exclude his frigid April stats (14 for 70, 29 Ks) and he had a very strong season thereafter.

And he hit much better v. righties: .247/.379/.497.  Just .204/.273/.381 vs. lefties.  Probably almost ready for a MLB platoon against righties.

Reminds me of Lucas Duda in regards to success vs. righties and struggles vs. lefties.

Hopefully, Clifford will have a better career than Duda, who did manage to hit 156 MLB homers. Clifford is performing better than Duda did at the same age in the minors.

OVER-FAMILIARITY

We Mets fans can become overly familiar, and overly negative, with our favorite team’s players. Soto has a colossal, but not perfect, year? We focus on the imperfect.  We become overly familiar, essentially.

Mack suggested NolaArenado, who was lousy in 2025 in terms of average, power, runs, andRBIs.  Some will scream, “get Arenado”, even though 80% to 90% of players who come to Citi Field do worse when they get here. And Arenado was already sliding in 2025, and will be a year older in 2026.

Well, perhaps we have another player besides Soto, someone whom some view as expendable, disposable, hopeless even?

Well, maybe we can replace that guy which one whom, over the past two seasons, in 837 at bats, had 44 doubles, 43 HRs, and 132 RBIs.  Wow!

“Get him!  Sign him!” You’d probably be screaming.

Who? 

Mark Vientos, that’s who.

It was Vientos’ essentially second real year this year. Yes, he did not do as well as in 2024.

But in Pete’s 2nd season, in shortened 2020, he was mostly lousy after being awesome.  A WAR of just 0.1 in 2020.

If Mark gets more aggressive in 2026, he could cause you to say WOW about him in 2026.

Like my wise mother used to say, “if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Imagine how Phillies fans feel about the pitcher who badly botched the game-losing play.  Hatred.

Yahoo Sports summarized the play thusly with a few of my added points in parens:

“With the Phillies and Dodgers tied 1-1 in extra innings, Orion Kerkering hand his hands full with a bases loaded, two outs situation. 

“Andy Pages broke his bat on a 0-1 pitch that made its way to Kerkering at the mound. However, the Phillies pitcher a) bobbled the ball and in his haste to make a play, b) threw to home plate instead of c) going to first base for what should have been an (inning-ending) out.”

“Instead, Kerkering threw a (very) wild ball at catcher J.T. Realmuto, and the Dodgers ended up walking off the Phillies after the catastrophic error.”

Season over, just like that, on a huge screw up.

What this synopsis did not say was that Realmuto was demonstratively pointing for him to throw to first, where he had plenty of time, but the pitcher threw to the plate anyway, several feet to the left of Realmuto. Try being that pitcher and living with THAT all off season.

He is “OVERLY FAMILIAR” TO MOST PHILS FANS NOW.  

Most Mets fans, though, will have missed that playoff game, have no hatred towards him, and say, yeah, we could use him in the pen; he had a good season.

THE TALES OF OMAR

A guy I only write about.

The always intriguing Omar De Los Santos turned 26 in AAA, and seems like a speedster (198 of 242 in minor league steals) who has very close to zero chance to make the big leagues. Like speedy Bahamian Champ Stuart in days of yore - very fleet afoot, but never got there.

Through early June, Omar was 7 for 46 with just 1 walk and 28 Ks. Koosman hit better than that, and he was facing big league pitching.  Brutal.

But in limited playing time thereafter, he went a decent 28 for 105 (.267) in Binghamton and Syracuse, with 4 walks…and 38 Ks…at AA and AAA.  He seemed to figure something out, at least somewhat.

He ended the season, though, with 5 walks and 66 Ks.  Prognosis? Bleak.

If I was Omar, I would hightail it to winter ball, to see if I could build upon my late season improvement.  But he has a mighty, mighty long way to go, even to just to be the next Jose Siri.