2025 Draft Prospect - SS - Julius Rosado - South River HS ( NJ )

 

Brian Recca              @brian_recca                     Sep 22, 2024:

SS Julius Rosado | '25

South River (NJ) | Warehouse Yard Goats

Rutgers Baseball commit

9/14: Hard contact through the left side from Rosado. Likes to load up backside with steep swing path. Quick hands. Swing geared for power. Showed clean glove/strong arm on D. Avg runner

 

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024 National Showcase 

Julius Rosado is a 2025 3B/MIF with a 6-0 205 lb. frame from South River, NJ who attends South River High School. Big and strong build. Right handed hitter, hits from a narrow start and loads to his back side, still hand start, has very strong and fast hands, steep barrel path that puts the ball in the air consistently, big raw power when he's out front and pulling, 106 EV/426 foot bomb to LF in the games, also 108 EV F7. 

Big history in high school and PG tournaments for power and home runs. 6.83 runner in the sixty. Primary third baseman on defense, has good lower half fundamentals and gets into position well with his feet, fields the ball cleanly with good glove work, enough arm strength for the position. Good student, verbal commitment to Rutgers.

 

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Rutgers baseball has landed a huge in-state prospect in Julius Rosado, the kind of recruit whose commitment to the Big Ten program will certainly make an impression on the area’s high school talent.

Rosado is a class of 2025 prospect who was named the NJ.com Baseball Newcomer of the Year for the previous baseball season. He plays infielder as well as pitcher for South River High School (South River, N.J.).

Last season in 28 games for South River he had 48 hits, 37 RBIs and 52 runs scored while batting .578.

He was a MaxPreps UnderClass All-American.

While he committed to Rutgers a few weeks ago, Rosado made it official via social media on Monday night. It was his first ever tweet:

2025 MLB Draft Prospect - RHP - Tyler Bremner

 

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RHP Tyler Bremner - UC Santa Barbara

 

FUN. That’s the main word I can come up with to describe Bremner’s stuff. It’s an electric factory on the mound. During the season, Bremner was mid-90s with his fastball. Tyler caught him at USA Collegiate National Team, where he was sitting 96-98. Shorter stint, but it lets you know that the upper-90s might be achievable in longer stints in due time. 

He pairs that fastball with a couple of plus secondaries. The slider is disgusting, and his low-to-mid 80s changeup has a ton of spin and depth. He throws all his pitches with confidence and excellent command. He’ll embark on a junior campaign where he will continue building on an already fantastic pitch mix. 

Bremner has all the makings you want to be one of the best arms in the 2025 MLB Draft class. He’ll get some solid competition from Florida State’s Jamie Arnold and prep-arm Seth Hernandez, though.

 

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Tyler Bremner

Height 6-2

Weight 180

Bats/Throws R/R

Hometown San Diego, Calif.

High School Scripps Ranch HS

Position RHP

 2024

Perfect Game All-America Second Team … ABCA/Rawlings All-America Third Team … NCBWA All-America Third Team … Invited to USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp ... ABCA/Rawlings All-West Region First Team … First Team All-Big West … Named Big West Pitcher of the Week on April 29 … 

Made nine starts in 19 appearances on the season, going 11-1 … Pitched 88 2/3 innings, striking out 104 batters and holding opponents to a .182 batting average to keep an ERA of 2.54 … Those 104 K’s are tied for the 10th-most punchouts in one season by a Gaucho pitcher, and his 11 victories match the fourth-best single-season mark by a Gaucho … Finished the regular season with the 15th-best ERA, 11th-fewest hits allowed per nine innings and third-lowest WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) in all of Division I … 

Threw his first career complete game on May 12 at Cal State Bakersfield, allowing just one run while striking out a career-high 12 hitters … Fired 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball against Oregon in the Santa Barbara Regional on June 1, striking out eight … Worked as a reliever from Feb. 23 through April 7, including a six-inning relief outing at Cal Poly on March 23 … 

Fired five scoreless outings as a reliever, highlighted by a four-inning, no-hit, seven-strikeout day against Long Beach State on March 15, and one as a starter, blanking Cal State Fullerton over eight innings on April 28 to complete Santa Barbara’s first sweep of the Titans since 1986.

 

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Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC Santa Barbara- Bremner’s velocity has taken a substantial leap from high school as he now pitches comfortably in the 95-96 mph range. From a three-quarter release point his arm is super quick, his head quiet and overall it’s a starter ease of operation. 

He has three plus to better pitches in his fastball, breaking ball and changeup. His 79-82 mph changeup is the best of the three and grades as a 70 (plus-plus). He can land it for strikes on both sides of the plate vs right handed and left handed batters. It’s a nasty swing/miss pitch with depth and fade. 

He can also manipulate the action and cut it to his gloveside. Another near 70-grade pitch is his turbo sweeper at 88-89 mph. He also flashed a plus hook with more depth and up/down break at 84 mph. 

Bremner showed the best “stuff” of any pitcher I saw this summer and his changeup might be the best pitch in college baseball, comparable to Kevin Kopps’ (Arkansas) cutter in 2021. He’s also a low-pulse guy who looks to have an inner edge. Some scouts have already begun to compare Bremner to Aaron Nola. 

If the 2025 draft were next week, Bremner would likely be one of the first collegians off the board.

Reese Kaplan -- How Did We Get to This 5-Game Do or Die?

5 games.  1 game lead over the surging Atlanta Braves.  3 must-win games against the Brewers.  A doubleheader scheduled for Monday in Atlanta to determine the playoff contenders unless either the Mets or Braves have a 3-0 or 0-3 weekend.

Some fans are rabidly excited about seeing the Mets move forward to the wild card round.  Others are having bad flashbacks to previous seasons where the club capitulated when it seemed for a long time they were destined to keep playing October.  Neither answer is completely wrong nor completely right.

Today, however, I’m not going to focus on what might be over the the Friday to Monday period and instead want to review what went right and wrong during this first David Stearns/Carlos Mendoza year in charge of acquiring, motivating and jettisoning players in the attempt to play competitive ball. 

Injuries

Wow, where do you begin?

First there was the loss of starting pitcher number one when Kodai Senga turned up with health issues to address in Spring Training.  Then starting pitcher number...your guess is as good as mine...David Peterson was still recovering from his off season surgery.  

That meant the club was starting the year with a rotation including newcomers Sean Manaea, Luis Severino, Adrian Houser (remember him?), plus returning faces Tylor Megill and Jose Quintana.  Even Jose Butto got a few opportunities.

After the season began you had the arrivals of Dedniel Nunez who is down and out.  Ditto Christian Scott who will miss all of 2024 after TJS.  Drew Smith was gone for the year.  Ditto Brooks Raley.  Sean Reid-Foley was doing so well but then had another of his annual injuries. 

Then on the offensive side you had J.D. Martinez unavailable up front due to a late start.  No one was sure how Starling Marte would hold up after his long IL stay in 2023.  

Harrison Bader had a chronic injury history but has held up for a full season.  Francisco Alvarez had missed quite a bit of time due to injury.  Then came Francisco Lindor.  And don’t forget Jeff McNeil. 

Slumps

In the beginning of the year the club was not getting great starting pitching and the bullpen was pretty much useless.  Proven hitters like Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor, Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, J.D. Martinez, D.J. Stewart and others were all ice cold to start the year.

Changes That Helped

Again, where do you begin?

Luis Torrens was a solid substitute when Francisco Alvarez was unable to play.  Jose Iglesias was and continues to be a remarkable hitter who had to fight for a minor league job after missing all of 2023.  It’s a little soon to draw an absolute conclusion about Luisangel Acuna, but the word “Wow” is on many folks’ lips.

Mark Vientos is obviously the biggest story while he’s going to finish the year close to 30 home runs and close to 70 RBIs after having started late and only getting about 400 ABs.  Who saw that one coming?

On the pitching side the return of David Peterson until this past week was absolutely unforeseen.  Sean Manaea pitched way better than was expected.  Jose Butto’s move to the bullpen was done mostly out of necessity and he’s thrived.  Unheralded Reed Garrett was amazing in the early part of the season.  

Dedniel Nunez is the poster child for the new minor league pitching lab who had always been a fringe player until studying how to improve his game.  Christian Scott was a huge positive in his brief trial until the arm problems affected him and led now to him missing the rest of 2024 and now 2025.

Leadership

Although the Mets did not entertain the cream of the crop in trades and free agency, somehow the moves David Stearns made worked far better than many thought they would.  When something didn’t work, he wasn’t afraid to make changes.  His former Brewer acquisition Adrian Houser is gone.  Ineffectual D.J. Stewart was pushed out.  Catcher Omar Narvaez is gone.  Free agent acquistions Zack Short and Joey Wendle are gone.  Brett Baty is gone.  

They started the year with an eight-man bullpen with only Edwin Diaz and Adam Ottavino still here.  Gone are Brooks Raley, Jake Diekman, Yohan Ramirez, Jorge Lopez, Drew Smith and Michael Tonkin. 

Additions to the roster after Opening Day include Mark Vientos, Jose Iglesias, Luis Torrens, Eddy Alvarez, Luisangel Acuna, Jesse Winker, Huascar Brazoban, Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, Reed Garrett, Alex Young and Danny Young. 

That’s a whole lot of roster churning for the year, but after the miserable start the Mets find themselves on the verge of making the playoffs.

How much credit should be given to manager Carlos Mendoza?  Well, like any rookie player, rookie skippers have their ups and downs, but it would appear that Mendoza didn’t fall into the favorite-player trap that afflicted previous Mets managers.  He kept juggling to see what would work and what didn’t, playing the hot hands instead of benching them for days on end like others had done in the past. 

Perhaps the most impressive feat this season has been the transition to a stronger pitching staff.  Obviously Jeremy Hefner deserves a lot of credit, but between early hooks for starters and extended inning outings for some relievers, it appeared that things were indeed changing.  

Then there were the unexpected efforts from guys like Garrett, Reid-Foley, Nunez, Butto and the Youngs.  Mendoza has to get some credit for having faith in his pitching mentors in the minors and the majors.

Truth be told, he’s had a better 2024 than Cooperstown-bound 2023 skipper Buck Showalter did.  That’s a hell of a nice start for managerial Rookie of the Year, Carlos Mendoza.

Tom Brennan: Recurring Nightmare

A RECURRING, NAUSEATING NIGHTMARE

I have this recurring nightmare. In it, the Mets collapse yet again.

It is just a bad dream, I surmise, and I roll over and go back to sleep.

But…it felt so real…you know? This collapse thing. I feel so nauseous.

2025 MLB Draft Prospect - OF - Kane Kepley - North Carolina

 

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OF KANE KEPLEY (LIBERTY TO NORTH CAROLINA)

The Tar Heels are getting one of the best contact hitters in the transfer portal. At Liberty, Kepley made some insane numbers contact wise. It doesn’t matter where you throw it, there is a good chance that Kepley will hit it. He utilizes the opposite field quite a bit as well.  The 5’8, 170lb outfielder doesn’t possess much raw power but still puts up decent overall exit velos. He’s a plus runner who can track a ball down decently in the outfield. That speed has also led to 20+ steals in one season at Liberty and two summer ball seasons. The lack of power, as mentioned, limits his ceiling, but he has a very safe floor due to his speed, defensive ability, and ability to make contact.

 

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Kane Kepley

Position: OF

Bats/Throws: L/L

Height: 5-8

Weight: 165

Prev School: South Rowan HS

Hometown: Salisbury, N.C.

2023

2023 ASUN All-Freshman team

Played in 50 games with 40 starts

Started 29 games in left field and 11 games in center field

Hit .310 with 19 RBI and a team-leading 44 runs scored

Had eight doubles, four triples and hit a home run

Walked a team-leading 39 times and posted a .457 on base percentage

Had 17 stolen bases

Finished the year tied for third in triples, tied for sixth in stolen bases and 11th in on base percentage in the ASUN

Hit .325, collecting 37 hits and walking 30 times in 30 games after taking over as the Flames’ leadoff hitter on April 6

Scored 46.6% (34-of-73) of the time that he reached base after becoming leadoff hitter

Had two hits and a RBI, stole two bases and scored three times in 12-1 win over Austin Peay (3/24)

Collected three hits, two stolen bases, a RBI and a run scored in a 9-4 victory at Lipscomb (4/2)

Had two hits against Virginia (4/4)

Went 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI, scoring three times in an 11-6 win over Central Arkansas (4/7)

Walked twice and scored twice in a 7-3 victory at Virginia Tech (4/11)

Collected three hits, two doubles, two RBI and one run scored in a 9-1 win in game two of a doubleheader at Kennesaw State (4/15)

Walked two times and scored two times in 3-2 victory over Old Dominion (5/3)

Tied the program record with six hits, hitting for the cycle, driving in a run and scoring three runs in a 15-12 victory at Eastern Kentucky (5/14)

Had two hits, including a triple, two RBI and two runs scored in a 12-11 win over No. 1 seed Lipscomb during pool play at the 2023 ASUN Baseball Championship (5/23)

Member of the ASUN Academic Honor Roll

 

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In Saturday's Cape Cod Baseball League All-Star Game, Kane Kepley – a former Liberty Flame and now North Carolina Tar Heel – drove in the winning run with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the game for the West Division. If that clutch performance doesn't fit the profile of a UNC outfielder, what does?

With the Major League Draft claiming all three - Vance Honeycutt, Anthony Donofrio and Casey Cook - of the elite Diamond Heels outfield trio, head coach Scott Forbes has turned to the transfer portal and old friendships to rebuild. With the addition of assistant coach and former Liberty head coach Scott Jackson, Kepley, an outfielder who hails from Sailsbury, N.C. has followed suit.

Kepley had two productive seasons with the Flames. He was named to the ASUN All-Freshman team in his first year and slached .326/.477/.514 in his second season for the Flames. He has a knack for getting on base, recording a stellar 0.51 strikeout-to-walk rate, with 53 walks to 26 strikeouts in his sophomore campaign.

This summer, Kepley has done more of the same with the CCBL's Hyannis Harbor Hawks where he's slashing .236/.442/.349, earning an All-Star game bid and proceeding to walk-off the game for the West.

MACK - Random Thoughts

 

The Mets released Syracuse outfielder, Jackie Bradley Jr.

I’ve always loved these veteran additions to fill the cracks at the AAA level. JBJ was hitting .400 for the Long Island Ducks when they signed him away. No, he never duplicated these kind of numbers for Syracuse, but he did deal up the same kind of Gold Glove defense he has done his entire career.

I got to know Jackie when he played college ball for the University of South Carolina. He had a hard time getting used to social media, as many of us have, but he is a true gentleman of the game. I wish him well.

 

Speaking of Syracuse, look for a cleaning house of the roster you now see listed on their website. However, one I hope they would sign for another season is outfielder, Jose Azocar.

Azocar has basically been a utility player all his career, known for his light bat, but don’t tell Syracuse that since they picked him up from San Diego. 

In 51 at bats, the 28 year old hit .353 for the Mets, with a .911-OPS. He also is 5-11, which is like Shaq height for Mets outfielders. It really would help while the prospects down there get their act together.

 

I got a name you all have to memorize… Justin Lawson.

         Brooklyn Cyclones     @BKCyclones

A look back at Justin Lawson's phenomenal season in Brooklyn.    He finished the season tied for the SAL lead with 8 saves and from June 15th to the end of the season:

 19 appearances

 33.1 innings pitched / 3 earned runs

 0.81 ERA

1.05 WHIP

      Justin Rocke        @JustinRocke

𝐉𝐋𝐚𝐰 was a wizard in the bullpen all year long.

Justin Lawson became the first Cyclone to hold at least a share of the league lead in saves (8) since 2015 & posted a High-A best 0.81 ERA from June 15 until the end of the season (min. 30.0 IP).

     Ernest Dove    @ernestdove

Mets P prospect Justin Lawson

*good command

*strike thrower

*2/4 seam

*spins ball well

*sweeper/slider

*CH

Could be a potential groundball/Low exit velo guy.

 

Twitter Mets International maven, metZZ 1986, posted up the current 2025 IFA signees for the Mets:

    SS Elian Pena

    OF Limonal Padilla

    2B Cleiner Ramirez

    IF Ronny Garcia

    OF/IF Aiberson Blanco

    C Adrian Silva

    SS Giomer Ortiz

    LHP David Medina

    RHP Arturo Nahum

Follow metZZ 1986 for more International good stuff

 

Matan K     @matan_writes

The fact that such a small percentage of position player WAR has come from 30+ year olds in recent seasons probably doesn't bode well for the FA market

 

Fascinating graph study which only proves you should never offer someone over 30 a long range contract.  

Reese Kaplan -- Atlanta Weather Offers 2 More Days of Pitcher Rest

Well, the hurricane-caused advance cancellation of the 2nd and 3rd games of the Mets/Braves series to help determine playoff positioning.  

It was also supposed to be the return of Francisco Lindor to the field after his time off to allow time for his back to heal.  

The question now is what are the Mets going to do with this schedule change provided by the weather?

It would seem that the first question the Mets need to face is how to align their pitching.  The two days off that were not expected are giving the club the opportunity to align their starting rotation however they choose as they head into Milwaukee for the final three scheduled games of the 2024 season.  

Word has filtered out that the Mets and Braves will play a doubleheader on Monday if the postseason positioning has not yet been secured by a 3-0 or 0-3 record against the Brewers.  Of course, how the Mets do also involves how the Braves handle their previously scheduled final three games at home against the Kansas City Royals.

For the Mets, they just used Luis Severino against the Braves on Tuesday so he is not likely going to be changed out of his normal number of days of rest.  However, going back to Sunday the Mets saw a short 4-inning challenging start by Tylor Megill that eventually turned into a victory.  

Prior to that was Sean Manaea winning his game.  Before that on Friday it was David Peterson taking a loss highlighted by a 6-run Phillies inning.  Before that again it was Luis Severino.  Missing in the immediate past was a start by Jose Quintana.

So if we do the math you have to consider who you want starting in Milwaukee.  From Sunday to Friday you have four full days of rest for Megill.  You have five full days of rest for Manaea.  You have six full days of rest for Peterson.  You have even more rest for Quintana.  Then, of course, there is Severino coming off two less than stellar starts in succession. 

From the perspective of give it all you can to make it to October, the Mets need to choose very carefully who they want against the Brewers.  It would seem that you have sufficient rest to start off with their de facto ace Manaea to try to win the first game.  After that it becomes more of a guessing game.  

Neither Peterson nor Megill have instilled a lot of long term confidence in previous seasons but this year have been far better than they have in the past.  Free agent to be Quintana is a veteran presence and another lefty if they feel lefties fare better than righties in Milwaukee.  If so, then David Peterson might be the third option. 

Of course, going all lefty against the Brewers would leave Tylor Megill and Luis Severino for Monday’s doubleheader if necessary.  It’s not ideal but it would also seem that other than Manaea there is no virtual certainty of a strong start. 

The other factor to consider for this coming weekend was the recently discussed proper way to use Francisco Lindor when he returns.  I’ve already opined that DH is a smarter move for him than playing the field, but given his defensive reputation it is more likely they will let him return to shortstop.  

That then leaves the question about the short term success of Luisangel Acuna and whether he rides the pines (or whatever the benches are made of these days), or if that role goes to J.D. Martinez with Mark Vientos taking over as DH. 

It’s great to be in the thick of a crazy last minute fight for October but the stress is definitely going to be telling.  Some react well to the most challenging situations while others crumble.  While it’s not expected that would happen with Acuna, the fact is that most managers will opt to trot out veterans which would make him a role player who could substitute for speed and defense after pinch hitting.  

Paul Articulates - The baseball gods are frowning

This week has been a great example of how baseball players and baseball teams have control over many things that they do, but also have no control over external influences or just the cruelty of chance that hangs over the game.  Here is how it unfolded so far:

Monday night - day off.  Weather was already threatening, but that is what the MLB schedule said, so no baseball was played.

Tuesday night - great opportunity.  Great pitcher on the mound for the Mets, no-name rookie on the mound for the Braves.  Mets came in with superior defensive numbers (OAA) and even better bats than their opponents (Mets had better OPS, Avg, and Runs than Braves).  They had the momentum, coming in with the best record in baseball since June.  

This was a perfect opportunity to crush the hopes of the Braves team.  Then the baseball gods got involved.  Dinks and dribblers, bad hops and mistakes, followed by a couple of bombs.  Mets drop a disappointing 5-1 game and instead of crushing the Braves hopes, they reinvigorated a good team that just needed a reason to start playing well.

Wednesday night - more weather.  MLB could have moved the game up, but the schedule said 7:20pm.  By 5:00pm, the weather was not only bad but getting worse with no relief in sight for a couple days at least.  

The series in Atlanta was now postponed to an after-the season doubleheader with everything at stake.  Burn your best pitchers to win and you lose because there is a three game wild card series starting on Tuesday with no breaks in-between.  In the most likely scenario, the Mets will play eight games in seven days in four cities.

This could only happen to the Mets.  The formerly hapless Mets (that title is now owned by the Chicago White Sox) now only retain the title of unluckiest team in baseball.

My high school coach would say that you make your own luck.  That is a tall order, as this team is still without Kodai Senga, and the five man rotation without him has to be good enough to win at least five of those eight games in seven days.  

The starters have to go deep enough so the bullpen doesn't have to pitch more than 16-20 innings over those eight games. The offense has no time to rest except on the plane crisscrossing the country from Atlanta to Milwaukee to Atlanta to either San Diego or Milwaukee again.

If the Mets can maneuver their way through this very difficult scenario, it will be one of the most remarkable demonstrations of tenacity and will that this ball club has every made.  It will be something that the coaches call upon to motivate future teams when adversity rears its head.  It will be something that strikes fear into the next opponent who has never had to stand in front of a speeding freight train before.

If the Mets don't, will we look back at some of those games that slipped away and say, "If only"?  Will we look back at the season and credit the club with doing more with less and overcoming many obstacles?  Will we just lament the way the team played in May?

No matter how this plays out, we Mets fans were blessed with a thrilling ride this season.  The early swoon and the subsequent surge.  The drama of many teams vying for three wild card spots, with some eventually falling by the wayside as our team remains in the thick of the race.  

The slumps and the comebacks; the streaks and the injuries and the heroes (or goats) of each game.  After watching 157 games I am riveted to the screen watching every pitch of every inning to see what happens.  We may wish for a championship but we thrive on the pursuit.  This year has been fun!

So to the Mets and their fans that are facing into these strong headwinds that have been presented by the baseball gods themselves I say two things:

Carpe diem!

Let's Go Mets!

Tom Brennan: Syracuse Mets Season Recap; Arizona Fall Roster

ROLLER COASTER IN BROOKLYN, ROLLER COASTER IN SYRACUSE

It is hard to believe that Mark Vientos and Jose Iglesias, both indispensable to the 2024 NY Mets, started out in Syracuse at the start of the season, and for a considerable length of time.

Both have been key factors in the NY Mets’ season and pennant run. 

Let’s not also forget that Reed Garrett and Dedniel Nunez, two other significant contributors, started out there. Garrett pitched one Syracuse game in March and got called up.

They started out 12-11 early on, then went a remarkable 48-24 to climb to a record of 60-35.

After that, the wings fell off as they went 17-36 to finish at 78-71, with a 4.96 ERA.

Offensively, 203 HRs in 149 games, as the team hit well in large put due to using so many MLB or older import veteran hitters (like Rhylan Bannon and Trayce Thompson, just to name two) during the season.  SO many at bats from the veteran types - I'll guess 30% at a minimum.  In part of course, because of Gilbert's and Williams' extended absences.

The 2 non-veteran studs were Luisangel Acuna, who got to the plate nearly 600 times and hit .260 with 40 steals, and Luke Ritter, who ended up with 26 HRs, 93 RBIs, and .257/,369/.480 - but 174 Ks.

Acuna got a late season call up when Francisco Lindor forgot what he learned in his Introduction to Sliding class from 10 years ago - he needs a refresher. 

Surprisingly, when Iron Man Lindor turned to gristle when he injured his back failing to slide, LA Acuna stepped in and had some great games.

Also of note offensively that excluded veterans were Mark Vientos and Bret Baty. Sadly, Baty has demonstrated a penchant for starting hot and then fading, and breaking bones late in seasons. Vientos had 30 RBIs in 31 AAA games, and Baty had 16 HRs and 43 RBIs in 230 ABs while hitting  in 62 AAA games, but also had an extended slump just before his broken bone.  Baty returned for a few games; a disappointing season.

Drew Gilbert was 6 for 25 when he really hurt his hammy, missing well over 3 months.  His return was frigid, with power, as he was 8th on the team with 10 HRs in just 214 at bats, with a late HR surge. AFL lies ahead.

Carlos Cortes played reasonably well when not hurt, but he is 27 now and moving into that veteran status. The ambidextrous switch hitter needs to find another gear.  It is called "playing every day." The 5'7" Cortes had strong power numbers playing in the equivalent of just a half season in 2024.  He scored 52 runs, drove in 52, and hit 16 HRs in just 281 at bats.

JT Schwartz hit .219/.287/.381 in 48 AAA games.  The 1B has to ramp it up sharply in 2025 to be relevant. 

Oddly, Austin Allen, Joe Hudson, and Hayden Senger combined to give the S-Mets solid catcher offense. Tommy Nido, too, in 9 AAA games before he went to the land of Wrigley Gum.  His season could not be described as Doublemint.  All the Syracuse catchers totaled 90 RBIs.  Senger, the youngest at age 27, hit .252/.323/.401.

Pitching-wise, it was an absolute turnstile, with 51 pitchers and 2 position players getting to pitch.

It was a season, pitching-wise, that was tinged with disappointment,

Christian Scott was great in his 42 AAA innings, other than his 10 HRs allowed, and pitched decently for the Mets until he hurt his arm.

Mike Vasil and Dom Hamel were AAA starters all year and were well short of mediocrity.

Hamel had a tale of 2 seasons: 1) All of his many starts prior to his last 2 starts (3-9, 7.22 ERA), and 2) his last 2 starts (2-0, 10 innings, 2 runs).  Hopefully, only the second season guy shows up in 2025.  Even with those last two suppressing outings, his final ERA was 6.79 and WHIP for the season was 1.75. 

Blade Tidwell pitched most of the season in AAA (after briefly hurling in AAA) and was mostly miserable.

Brandon Sproat fanned 11 straight in his last AA start, then unexpectedly stumbled pretty badly in AAA.  He ended his first pro season at 7-4, 1.11 WHIP, 3.40 ERA - but a very hittable (.313) 28.2 IP in AAA, where he had a 7.53 ERA.  Surprising and disappointing, but 2025 is payback time and a restart towards stardom.

Those 5 starters gave up 81 long balls in 415 IP in 2024 in AAA.

 - The rest of the squad gave up "just" 98 HRs in 860 IP.

Joey Lucchesi was unimpressive (4.70). I expected better. Will he retire?  (Well, his 4.70 LOWERED the team's ERA, so there is that).

Joander Suarez finally got to AAA and his highlight game there was pitching 5 innings, surrendering 8 runs, leaving the game trailing 8-0, only to have Syracuse hitters put up a nine spot in the bottom of the 5th, allowing him to secure a W. He pitched solidly in AA, but found AAA a steep challenge (1-1, 12 runs in 9 innings).

Tyler Zuber, acquired for strikeout monster Paul Gervase, earned the title of Terrible Tyler the Uber Zuber for his awful post-trade AAA pitching.  Meanwhile, Gervase pitched great after the trade and walked just 3 in 18 innings.

Relief-wise in AAA, Dedniel Nunez was great, as was Jose Butto, and both have pitched admirably when healthy for the NY Mets. 

A real blow was lefty reliever Nate Lavender needing TJS early on in the season, as everyone expected he'd make his MLB debut in the first half of 2024 - except his elbow. He should be ready to go by, or before, mid-2025.  In his minors career, in AAA in 2023 and early 2024, he has 76 Ks in 51 IP.

Justin Jarvis in AAA had an ERA circling like a buzzard over the 6.00 mark.

Shintaro Fujinami was way down below awful early on, then had some good outings, then didn't.  If he returns, it will have to be to AAA and for cheap.  He proved nothing this year, other than that he is unreliable.

Bryce Montes de Oca briefly returned from his second TJS, was wild, and then was put back on the IL for the rest of the season.  Getting old - was he healthy and they just told him they were shutting him down to be ready for 2025, and will he even resurface in 2025?

Tylor Megill rode the Syracuse to NY shuttle, getting several outings for the AAA affiliate. He was 3-0, 3.68 for AAA.

Wilkin Ramos was decent in AAA, but wild. He was 4-2, 5.40 in his games there.

Eric Orze was excellent after his first two relief outings in wind chill factor games.  6-1, 2.92, 84 Ks in 61 relief innings.  He will pitch in the majors next year.

Simply, other than Orze, who was 6-1 in relief with a BAA of under .200, the only guys who pitched well in AAA were major league mainstays Scott, Megill, Peterson, Butto and Nunez.  

The rest of the staff had a collectively horrific ERA, which I don't care to try to recalculate.  Probably 6.00 or thereabouts, if that low.

So, Syracuse was a more heavily-laden a veteran hitting squad than ever, but the younger hitters did only OK.  The young pitchers mostly got pounded, which is not helpful to building a 2025 NY Mets team.  

Add to that weak hitting at the next 3 levels down (AA, High A, and Low A) and the relatively sparse real pitching prospects in the minors, and the club will have trouble reinforcing their MLB roster next year with call ups from existing talent. Stearns will be shopping aggressively for arms.

And likely be putting very heavy reliance on Peterson and Megill to produce many quality innings in Queens in 2025.  300-350, possibly?

AAA season?  It's a wrap.  And that's no minor thing, people.

That said, my future writing will focus on NY Mets' playoff efforts.

And a future Top Prospects analysis.

TWO RAIN OUTS, DOUBLE HEADER ON MONDAY?

Baseball is run by idiots.

Why not turn Tuesday’ single game into a doubleheader, when it was clear the Wed/Thur weather would be a deluge?

Very unfair to the Mets’ fans, and if the Mets advance, the staff will be worn out.

OUR ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE FELLAS

Thanks to our terrific reader D J for this list:

The Fall League rosters have been posted:

3 injured ranked hitting prospects:

Jett Williams- Inf

Drew Gilbert- Of

Jacob Reimer- 3rd

 - Those injured 3 totaled perhaps one full season equivalent.

5 pitchers:

Saul Garcia- P (4-8, 5.05 in 71 IP in 2024, 86 Ks.Work in progress).

Noah Hall- P (missed most of 2024…13 pro innings)

Jonathan Pintaro- P  26 year old rookie who had a fine season (2.68 ERA)

Dylan Ross-P (drafted in 2022…ONE pro inning)

Dylan Tebrake- P (I believe he is returning back from TJS. No 2024 IP)

Mostly, “The Return of the Injured.”

All will be playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions. 

Play starts Tuesday, October 8. As we root for them:

Let’s hope we are still also rooting for NY Mets games by then.