1/30/26

MACK - The Friday Report - Trey McGough, Yordan Rodriguez, Tobias Myers, Carson Benge

 

 

Good Morning –



The New York Mets have signed Trey McGough to a minor league contract. The pitcher has 267 strikeouts in 280.2 innings pitched throughout his minor league career.

GROK

Trey McGough is a left-handed pitcher (LHP) recently signed by the New York Mets to a minor league contract (reported as a two-year deal in some sources).

He was born on March 29, 1998 (age 27), in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, stands 6'3" tall, and weighs around 200 lbs.

McGough was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 24th round of the 2019 MLB Draft out of Mount St. Mary's University.

He has minor league experience across several organizations: Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, and now the Mets.

His career minor league stats include a solid 3.21 ERA over 280⅔ innings, with 267 strikeouts and 93 walks (good control, with a 1.15 WHIP in reports).

He primarily worked as a reliever in the upper minors.

In 2024, he pitched in the minors (including time with Bowie Baysox, Norfolk Tides, and Charlotte Knights) and posted a strong 1.98 ERA over 81⅔ innings before retiring in May 2025 while with the White Sox's Triple-A affiliate.

He came out of retirement to sign with the Mets on January 15, 2026.

He's been assigned to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Double-A) as of late January 2026. This signing adds left-handed pitching depth to the Mets' system, likely as organizational relief depth rather than an immediate MLB contributor.

Repertoire

Fastball (four-seam or sinker variant) topping around 92-93 mph.

Offspeed pitches like a changeup.

Breaking balls (slider and/or curveball) in the upper 70s to low 80s.

He's a depth piece for the Mets' farm system—nothing flashy, but a low-risk add with upside if he builds on his 2024 performance.

 

 


Mets Prospect Group      @bkfan09

Love this flyer for the Mets in the Jeff McNeil trade. 2026 could be a breakout  season for Cuban Pitcher Yordan Rodriguez ($400K)

GROK

Yordan Rodriguez is a young pitching prospect in professional baseball, currently in the New York Mets' minor league system.

He's a right-handed pitcher (RHP) born on January 29, 2008, in Cuba (listed with El Salvador, Cuba origin in some records), making him 17-18 years old as of late 2025/early 2026. Standing at 6'3" (about 190 cm) and weighing around 190 lbs, he has solid physical projection for a pitcher.

Background and Career

So Far, Rodriguez signed as an international free agent with the Oakland Athletics in January 2025 for a $400,000 bonus.

He made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League (DSL) with the DSL Athletics in 2025, where he pitched 15.1 innings across several appearances (likely relief outings early on), posting a 2.93 ERA, solid strikeout numbers (around 11.7 K/9), and good but not elite command.

In December 2025, the Mets acquired him from the Athletics in a trade that sent veteran infielder Jeff McNeil (plus cash) to Oakland. He's now assigned to the Mets' DSL affiliate (DSL Mets Blue).

Scouting reports highlight him as a promising teenage arm with starter potential, listed among notable international prospects (e.g., top 20 in some Athletics rankings pre-trade). He's viewed as a long-term developmental project with upside due to his age and tools.

Repertoire and Stuff

His pitching arsenal stands out for someone so young, showing advanced feel and power for his level:

Fastball: Primary pitch sitting 91-95 mph, with reports of touching up to 96 mph. It's a plus-velocity offering for a 17-year-old.

Slider: A key secondary pitch, thrown in the 79-83 mph range with high spin (around 2650 rpm noted in some breakdowns), suggesting good shape and sweep potential.

Other pitches: Reports mention a curveball and changeup with good mixability and feel, supporting a starter profile rather than pure relief. The overall package combines pitchability (command/feel) with exciting stuff.

He's still very early in his career (just one pro season in rookie ball), so expect further development in velocity, consistency, and pitch refinement as he progresses through the minors.

No MLB debut yet—he's years away, but the tools make him an intriguing name to watch in the Mets' system. 

 Thomas Nestico        @TJStats

Tobias Myers (acquired by NYM) is a depth arm who spent 2025 is a hybrid role split between MLB and AAA

His carrying trait is a high-riding fastball which struggled to produce positive results in 2025 and a deep array of secondaries. Two intriguing traits the Mets can play with

MACKPaul Articulates asked me who I thought was going to be the biggest surprise on the 2026 Mets. I told him this guy.

I’m still not sure what role he will plan but I expect Mets fans to be very happy with this “throw in” in the Freddy Peralta deal.

 

Keith Law – Top 100 Mets Prospects

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6985939/2026/01/26/top-mlb-prospects-2026-keith-law-konnor-griffin/

#18    Carson Benge    OF

2025 Ranking: NR

The Mets’ 2024 first-round pick, Benge was a two-way player at Oklahoma State who gave up pitching when he signed — smart move all around — and really took off last year after making a small adjustment at the plate to stop rolling his front ankle. He’s an excellent athlete with very quick hands and more power than his home-run total (15) would imply, getting to some more power as the season went on with plenty more to come if he continues to adjust. Because of the way he strides and lands and the start of his hand movement, he can end up having to make a huge move to get the barrel into the zone, flying open as a result and, especially early in 2025, rolling his front ankle because he can land too closed. The more he loosened that up — and he did improve it between April and June — the more he could get to his pull side without having to overexert, and he has easy plus power that way. He showed more advanced swing decisions last year than I expected, with excellent pitch recognition, although he gets way, way too aggressive with two strikes. He’s a center fielder now and could end up an above-average defender there, with plus defense in right field his absolute floor, as he has a cannon for an arm that used to produce mid-90s velocity in relief. I’m more of a believer now that I’ve seen him make some adjustments at the plate, even though there’s more work to do.

 

        TJStats – https://tjstats.ca/2026/01/27/2026-top-100-prospects/#carson-benge

        Carson Benge -

        Scouting Grades

        FV 55   Hit 55/60   Power 50/55   Decisions 55/60   Speed 55/55  

        Defense 50/55

Carson Benge solidified himself as one of the most complete prospects in baseball with an excellent pro debut season where he posted a .857 OPS across 116 games. His profile is balanced with above average tools across the board while manning the outfield. A solid 20.1% Whiff rate paired with a strong 21.9% O-Swing rate helped him maintain a 17.7% strikeout rate while walking at an elite rate. His underlying power metrics indicate he has above-average to plus raw strength, however his flatter bat path and spray tendencies may limit his slugging potential. His above average speed, good route running, and cannon of an arm greatly helps his outlook as a CF. Benge is one of the safer bets to be a MLB regular and looks poised to join the Mets early in the 2026 season.


4 comments:

Tom Brennan said...

Great stuff, Mack.

Get McGough into the lab and get him throwing 98. Meyers, too.

Yordan? May we live long enough to see him win ROY in 2029.

Mack Ade said...

I've had enough of signing underperforming relievers this off-season

Tom Brennan said...

Mack, he did the same thing last year. The underperforming, marginal relievers are like those crash barriers on the highway. When everything is falling apart, you need some live bodies to try to make the collision not as bad as it what otherwise be.

I think part of the plan this year might be, if major league starters start off healthily, and the prospect pitchers developed nicely, to move Holmes back to the bullpen. You gain different experience fighting through innings as a starter, and I bet Home’s going back to the pen would be a better pen version of him than what he was before. His tools would be better, refined. Even though the Mets signed him as a starter. It sure work well for Andrew Miller and John Smeltz.

Mack Ade said...

Still

There is nowhere near room for all these reclamation projects even in AAA

And what's with two year contracts that pitched like shite in the past?