Mack's Mets

8/27/26

MACK – Let’s Revisit – 3B – Jefferson Rojas

Jefferson Rojas is a 21-year-old Dominican professional baseball infielder (primarily shortstop/second base/third base) and the New York Mets’ top prospect.

Born: April 25, 2005, in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Height/Weight: 5'11", ~150 lbs

Current team: Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets affiliate)

Rojas signed with the Chicago Cubs as an international free agent in January 2022 (ranked among the top international prospects). He progressed quickly through the Cubs’ system and was their No. 2 prospect

On August 3, 2026, the Mets acquired him from the Cubs in exchange for RHP Clay Holmes and OF Tyrone Taylor. He immediately became the Mets’ No. 1 prospect (and ranks in the MLB Pipeline Top 100, recently around No. 63–76).

2026 performance

He has had a strong season (career-high power) across Double-A Knoxville (Cubs)

Since joining the Mets: He has continued producing well, including reaching the 20-homer mark for the first time in his career (his 20th came on August 25).

Scouts praise his well-rounded offensive profile (bat-to-ball skills, emerging power, speed), and he is viewed as a potential everyday big-league contributor, likely settling at second or third base long-term. He remains young for Double-A and is considered a candidate for a future call-up or continued rapid advancement.

Tom Brennan: Where Minor League Runs Flow Like Diarrhea; Billy Kingman

PITCHERS ARE HAVING A WICKED CASE OF “THE RUNS”

IN THE DSL (DIARRHEA SUMMER LEAGUE)

Sorry for the visual image, but if the shoe fits, wipe off the sole.

When pitchers in the DSL are not getting rocked, they are walking the park.

The Mets DSL Blue team’s pitchers incredibly allowed 478 runs in 423 IP.

Good Golly, Miss Molly.

They were downright stingy, though, compared to the DSL Padres Brown team, which allowed 527 runs in 402 innings, 11.8 runs per 9 innings, and the Miami DSL squad that allowed 506 runs in 392 innings.

Teams that allowed more than, or barely less than, a run per inning, which I arbitrarily defined as 10 or fewer less runs than innings pitched, plus any teams allowing more than a run per inning?

13 TEAMS. EQUALLING 26% OF THE LEAGUE’S TEAMS.

The DSL’ stingiest team still allowed 5 runs per 9 innings. They were rare.

Why? Only 5 of the 51 teams allowed fewer than 6 runs per 9 innings.

THE DSL is mistakenly thought to be the Dominican Summer League.

It is more aptly entitled:

DSL = Diarrhea Scoring League

My brother Steve asked me how that much poor DSL pitching could be possible.

I thought about it, and said to him that my best guess is that you are likely pulling about 1,400 to 1,500 pitchers in the 16-19 age range mostly from the little Dominican Republic, to cover the entire 51 team league.

You will have to use a lot of truly bad pitchers to do that, hence the huge amount of runs, walks, and hit batsmen in the DSL. There are 100s of pitchers with mind-boggling poor DSL stats.

For instance, the worst hurling team, the Padres Brown, had 13 pitchers with ERAs above 10. The poor-pitching Mets Blue team had 10 pitchers with ERAs above 10.

And probably, most of the strong-armed players want to be shortstops.

THE DSL’S HIGH A BALL COUNTERPART?

The DSL highly hurting hurlers are not alone.

DSL hurlers have “explosive diarrhea” company: Asheville, in High A ball.

The Ashevillian pitchers have allowed a staggering 580 runs at home in just 534 innings, with opposing hitters batting .319 in their home park and allowing a staggering 132 HRs in 60 games.

No surprise, since their teeny tiny park is 373 feet to dead center, 320 feet to right center, and 296 down the right field line.

When I was a 130 pound, 16 year old lefty hitting slugger-kid with pimples, I could hit a ball about 350 or so feet max, and thus could easily have cleared that Asheville fence in right field and right center.

Sign me up! I was a more muscled 160 pounds by age 18, and I too could have been an Asheville power hitter.

Those crazy short dimensions at least partially explain why Brooklyn scored a huge 43 runs in their last 3 games there last week.

And 64 runs in the entire 6 game weekly series there.

Remarkably, that STILL left Brooklyn with a league-worst .215 average this year. Why?

The Cyclones (both road and home) hit (wrong word) .184 in April and .191 in May, which is an awfully tough hole to dig out of.

Brooklyn pitchers meanwhile incredibly have allowed just 244 runs in 59 home games in Stingy Field, or 336 fewer runs than Asheville pitchers allowed at home.

Meaning that Brooklyn pitchers have allowed a staggering 5.6 runs per game fewer in Brooklyn this season than Asheville chuckers have projectile-vomited out in Asheville, NC.

Asheville hitters, on the other hand?

They love their home park, of course, scoring 7.3 runs per game there this season. And 144 fewer runs on the road, so I hear that they hate to travel.

Don’t tell me park dimensions and wind/chill conditions don’t matter.

They matter bigly.

The SAL league’s Greensboro park is quite cozy, too, and the proof is that their team has scored over 7 runs per home game. Why is that relevant?

Sammy Stafura hit 19 HRs and drove in 51 runs in 47 games for Greensboro before heading to Brooklyn in “the Luke Weaver trade”.

Since joining Brooklyn, where chunks of strength-sapping kryptonite are reportedly strewn throughout the clubhouse, Sammy has 0 HRs and 2 RBIs in 14 Cyclones games through Sunday.

Surprised? Not me.

So, remember this…

Mitch Voit struggled in Brooklyn in April and May, as did Corey Collins.

Gold Glove, hyper speed Mitch gets promoted to AA and out of Cyclones gulag in Siberia, and is it any surprise that Mitch was torching it at a stunning .437/.529/.648 in 18 AA games?

REMINDER TO READERS:

COMPLETELY IGNORE BROOKLYN STATS WHEN EVALUATING ANY HITTERS.

ALSO, ON THE TOPIC OF RUNS ALLOWED…

The 1962 Mets, in large part due to atrocious defense, allowed 948 runs in 160 games. Had they played all 162 at that pace, they would have allowed 960 runs.

In only one other season, 2017, did the Mets even allow more than 800 runs (863) to score.

Pretty remarkable: all the other Mets seasons were below 800 runs allowed.

The Mets top 4 minor league teams in 2026 have allowed LOTS of runs.

Here are the totals through August 24 for each of those teams, and the projected runs they’d allow if their seasons extended over 162 games:

St Lucie - A: 713 runs in 119 games. 162 game projection: 1,004 runs!

Syracuse - AAA: 626 runs in 125 games. 162 game projection: 812 runs!

Binghamton - AA: 603 runs in 121 games. 162 game projection: 807 runs!

Brooklyn - Hi A: 543 runs in 118 games. 162 game projection: 745 runs!

So, the first 3 minors teams, based on 162 game projections, would have ranked #1, #4, and #5 in the Mets’ 60+ seasons of most runs allowed in a season.

Brooklyn would have been in the top third of all Mets seasons in runs allowed.

So…all I can conclude is…don’t really expect sufficient useful major league caliber pitching to come out of the minors in 2027.

The top 4 teams collectively, based on the above data, have terrible pitching.

LAST NIGHT

Mets loss…we need to sell Stock short…Bichette leaves game hurt…

Vientos homers in Syracuse, as Syracuse scores 11…bashing Brooklyn also scores 11 runs, 7 of them in the 10th inning. Love those extras.

Trey Snyder and Billy Amick had their slugging shoes on last night, especially Amick, who cracked 2 homers and added another hit.

Billy has 33 HRs and 99 RBIs in just 385 at bats. Billy Kingman.

Paul Articulates - Is this team good enough to compete next season?

The New York Mets are in the midst of a gauntlet run where they play four division leaders in a row, which is part of their post-all-star-break schedule - one of the toughest in MLB. They did themselves no favors by performing so poorly out of the gate, and the later half of this season has just seemed like fulfillment of an obligation rather than an exciting push to the finish.

The team has played better this month, but as we saw in the series finale in Chicago and now in two games against the Brewers, they just don't always have the talent in the right places to compete with the best. Sunday it was the lack of stamina in our latest closer Kodai Senga that allowed a walk-off on a pitch he doesn't throw when well rested. Tuesday it was an unavailable Senga that necessitated an unfamiliar Austin Warren on the mound to start the ninth, where he quickly blew his first save opportunity. Wednesday it was Robert Stock being dominated by a good hitting team.

The fans and the media seem to be giving the team a pass when these things happen because frankly, that potential win would not have changed anything when the team is this far back in the standings and this far below .500. If the team were competing for a playoff spot as was projected earlier in the season, there would have been much less tolerance for these kind of things.

This leads me to today's question: "Is this team good enough to compete next season?" My answer is simply, "No".

We have made some strides with the experimental lineups this year. An early promotion of AJ Ewing has discovered a legitimate star in the making. A well deserved promotion has positioned Carson Benge as a definite star in the making. A necessary call-up of Zack Thornton has identified a promising middle-of-the-rotation starter. The opportunity for consistent playing time has proven that Jared Young is a deserving major leaguer.

But I also argue that those strides are not enough. We cannot start a 36-year old second baseman next year with a .214 batting average. We can't field a five pitcher rotation with only three guys that provide consistent results. We can't compete in close games with closers that only show up some of the time and fail to dominate in others. We also can't have a designated hitter position in the lineup that is manned by guys hitting under .200. These are glaring problems that present barriers to success in any season regardless of how healthy the team is.

Some would argue that this team has the purchasing power to go out and fill all those holes in the off-season. However, as we have seen in recent off-seasons, it is not just the big offer that wins in free agent acquisition. It is the promise of success and the team environment that lures players to teams that are positioned to compete for championships. They Mets have neither, as their reputation was severely damaged in the last two disappointing MLB seasons. Adding fuel to the fire, it is likely that the collective bargaining agreement negotiations (if they are completed in time to hold the 2027 season) will limit the spending power of wealthier teams like the Mets.

If there is a salary cap, the Soto contract will go from a huge triumph to a huge boat anchor. With big salaries promised in 2027 to guys like Lindor, Bichette, Polanco, and Roberts, the remaining slots on the 26-man roster will have to be constructed with controllable, minimum salary players and spin-the-wheel aged veterans that David Stearns has experimented with unsuccessfully over the past two seasons.

That is not enough to win, and that is not going to be acceptable to the New York fans or the New York media for another season.

8/26/26

MACK - Let's Get To Know - RHRP - AJ Krodel

AJ (Andrew James) Krodel is a right-handed pitcher selected by the New York Mets in the 12th round (overall pick No. 360) of the 2026 MLB Draft out of UC Santa Barbara. Background and college career

Born May 11, 2005, in Villa Park, California (age 21 as of mid-2026).
Height/weight: 6'4", 200 pounds; bats/throws right/right.
High school: Villa Park HS (lettered three years). Combined .288/.356/.352 as a hitter and a 3.70 ERA in 98.1 innings as a pitcher; went undrafted in 2023 and headed to UCSB.
College (UCSB Gauchos): Primarily a reliever. Career stats across three seasons roughly 6-4 with a mid-6 ERA in ~66 innings, 83 strikeouts, and elevated walk rates. In 2026 (junior year): 25 appearances, 3-2 record, 4 saves, 5.66 ERA in 35 innings, 42 hits, 17 walks, 42 strikeouts. He had stronger summer-ball results (e.g., 1.74 ERA in 31 innings as a starter for the Santa Barbara Foresters in the California Collegiate League in 2025).
amazinavenue.com

He signed with the Mets and was assigned to the FCL Mets (Florida Complex League affiliate).

Pitching repertoire and profileKrodel throws from a high three-quarters arm slot with a long arm action and above-average/elite extension off the mound. He features a four-pitch mix (unusual emphasis for a primarily bullpen arm) and has been noted for movement and spin traits more than pure velocity:

Fastball (primarily two-seam): Low-90s (often 91-93, rarely higher). Below-average velocity and spin rates, but strong induced vertical break and seam-shifted wake effects create late arm-side run/dive and a “resists gravity” look. Effective shape despite the velo.
Circle changeup: Low-to-mid 80s; frequently cited as his best secondary. Extreme arm-side fade; effective against both lefties and righties and a strikeout weapon (noted as generating multiple Ks in outings).
Slider (sweeper): High-70s to low-80s. Shows promise with big sweep/movement; still relatively raw in terms of sharpness and consistency.
Curveball: Mid-to-high 70s. Shows some promise but remains raw, relying more on overall movement than sharp break.

Scouting notes highlight strong release traits, ability to spin the ball (especially the sweeper), and “enticing raw ingredients with room to improve.” He has been described as an interesting relief arm who can adjust mound position based on the hitter. Command has been a consistent issue (career college walk rate around 12%), leading to hittable pitches when he tries to force strikes, higher fly-ball rates, and elevated BABIP/home-run rates in college. Strikeout rate was solid (~27% career at UCSB). Overall projection centers on further velocity gains, refining command and secondary sharpness, and leveraging the unique fastball shape + changeup + extension for professional success, likely in a bullpen role. He was viewed as a developmental arm with upside rather than a polished high-round talent.

Tom Brennan - Mets Middle IF Thoughts, Looking Ahead to 2027/28 and Beyond

Emilien Pitre

CANADIAN EMILIEN PITRE CAN REALLY HIT, YES?

BEFORE I START ON THE FAB FOUR INFIELD PROSPECTS

TUESDAY: Mets win a 10 inning thriller. This Mets team has gelled and would be downright dangerous if Juan Soto was in the middle of the line up.

Meanwhile, Binghamton and St Lucie combined for 18 runs, Brooklyn and Syracuse combined for two.

Jon Santucci pitched great after allowing a first inning HR to a very strong AAA hitter. He is adjusting. Now…

BACK TO PITRE, WHO IS HITTING .354 IN 17 GAMES POST-TRADE, WITH ONLY ONE K EVERY 11 PAs, BUT JUST ONE METS SYSTEM XBH SO FAR.

Here is how I see the middle infielders (and 3rd base) on the Mets roster playing out by 2028, and actually sooner:

But first, keep this in mind…

Elian Peña, $5 million bonus baby, just got promoted to High A Brooklyn. FAST!! He only turns 19 in October.

The last 18 year old position player promoted by the Mets to High A?

Yeah, I can’t think of one, either. Like, ever. Gooden did…but he pitched.

Pena remarkably skipped past the FCL from the DSL, straight to St Lucie, and posted a tremendous .388 OBP in St Lucie this year.

So, my projected IF roster - how does it look?

Between Jefferson Rojas, Mitch Voit, Emilien Pitre, and Elian Peña, I’d be somewhat surprised if Francisco Lindor is still a Met in 2028. But he is back playing like Lindor, and you don’t discard stars.

AND…THE TWO VERY OLD MEN?

Marcus Semien’s days are numbered.

Jorge Polanco’s days are numbered. (I now call him Pol-Ankle)

Both have their Mets remaining playing days numbered, in very small digits.

Back to the four kids…

All four (Rojas, Pitre, Voit, and Pena) are very promising middle infielders.

First 3? They do not strike out much, which is absolutely key. Rojas is simply bombing away in AA, and already deserves a AAA promotion.

So does Voit. Pitre is already there, n’est pas?

The first 3 look extremely promising in every aspect of the game, except a bit low on power from Voit and Pitre, so far, as MLB is a power hitters’ league that lusts for power, but their power will normalize soon.

I see all three as promising starting MILF’s for the Mets fairly soon.

Maybe Voit get an outfield glove.

The fourth, Elian, is being appropriately rushed, so he has fanned once per game, in 2026, and that’s is OK. And he has a decent .303 OBP in his first 6 Brooklyn games.

That K rate will drop as he gets a little less rushed.

Plus Elian had led off all year for Lucie, and hence had compiled more PAs per game. Which accelerates development. His 94 St Lucie Ks in 439 PAs is a very good rate at age 18.

He is more than surviving the fast promotion challenge. He is thriving.

His defense (decidedly “I’m 18” shaky this year) will normalize in 2027.

The first 3 dudes are more advanced than Pena and will be METS starting players before, or by, opening day 2028.

I’d say all 3 will show up in Queens WELL BEFORE 2028…

…just like Benge and Ewing hurtled upward.

I am betting first half 2027 for all three.

Pena, the fourth, will show up by mid 2028, or opening day 2029.

Lindor? Aging, too, like the somewhat older Semien and Polanco. But far more dangerous still.

FL will be turning 34 in 2028. He is still owed $33 million per year for FIVE YEARS, starting in 2027, and those 5 years span ages 33-37.

Few baseball players are ever worth that money in that age bracket.

Last chance as I see it for the Mets in 2027, or even this off season, to deal Lindor and not eat huge contractual $, before his age really catches up to him.

Like it quickly did with Happy Jose.

The fine Jose Reyes decidedly downshifted performance-wise at age 34, and collapsed in a heap to .189 at age 35.

So, it is in my view a big risk to keep Lindor at his $$ past mid-2027.

If he is hot, but the Mets are out of contention by 2027 trade deadline, he could go then.

Or, trade him this off-season.

Call up the cheap, talented kids in 2027.

Out with the aging, in with the low-cost youths.

A gamble? For sure. The youth could flop, of course, or sputter a bit.

But Lindor’s 33 RBIs in 289 ABs while hitting .239?

Maybe Jefferson Rojas could do that in 2027 instead.

Or Voit. Or Pitre.

Moving on…

WANDY ASIGEN? Late 2029 or opening day 2030.

He’s 16, reader dude, so relax.

Meanwhile, before I go, there are four more…

Sammy Stafura, Boston Baro, Trey Snyder and Jack the Ripper Reimer all say, “Don’t forget me!” All have to be healthier and/or do better.

Jack the Ripper is the closest to throwing his hat in the Queens Ring.

All four have real potential if they stay healthy, which 3 of those 4 have struggled with.

So, there you have it.

Reese Kaplan -- A Wholly Unexpected Pleasant NY Mets Surprise

If you took a poll of Mets fans and writers sometime around mid April when the wheels first fell off the wagon and asked what would be the most unexpected positive developments for the team, there would be quite a few hits and misses.

On the latter, let’s think a minute about the bullpen and how it has devolved during the 2026 season. While most people were highly positive about setup pieces including Luke Weaver, A.J. Minter, Brooks Raley and to a lesser extent Huascar Brazoban, no one other than David Stearns was 100% on the Devin Williams bandwagon. The initial thought was he would be part of a monster duo at the end of games alongside Edwin Diaz, but when the former Fireman of the Year took his powerful arm across the country to Los Angeles, it suddenly fell upon the former star closer from the Brewers to take over that role for the Mets.

Unfortunately everyone is fully aware of Williams’ struggles in the Bronx last season, finishing the 2025 season with a 4.79 ERA and 18 saves across 67 games. That output was not what the Yankees had in mind and despite his many struggles, his Mets numbers are actually better. When he went down with injury he was holding a 4.66 ERA with 16 saves across just 42 games. Where Williams was better across town was in his WHIP but everything else favors the Mets though not at the level the POBO expected.

However, the biggest surprise after the August trading deadline clean sweep of the bullpen was the fact that horrifically struggling starting pitcher Kodai Senga was told he was going to be reporting to the bullpen, ostensibly in the 8th inning setup role for Williams. Then came the injury to the former Yankees/Brewers closer and all of the sudden the least treasured member of the Mets pitching staff was suddenly thrust into prime time as the closer for the boys in orange and blue.

So how has he done? Let’s push aside his recent 9th inning losing home run for the moment and look at the numbers prior to that happening. Since early August he was throwing to the tune of a 1.29 ERA since joining the relief corps. Add in this one poor loss and he’s still able to show a 2.45 ERA working at the end of games.

So take a poll among your friends and ask them if they had any faith at all in Senga as a pitcher, starter or reliever, or envisioned he could become dominant in his new role? Would there be a single person (other than me in an article earlier in the season) who suggested Senga could thrive in the pen much like other starters turned relievers have done in the past. I certainly don’t have an Edwin Diaz, Jesse Orosco, Tug McGraw nor even a Neil Allen level of confidence when Senga enters a game, but it’s surely a totally unforeseen positive development that virtually no one saw coming.

Some people are already making some noise about Senga returning as the Mets closer next season with Williams returning to the setup role originally envisioned for him. Others think what’s happening now is because the games don’t count towards contention and it’s a matter of being done with mirrors other than sheer ability. Certainly Williams has a much longer positive track record of productivity in that role than does converted starter Senga, but at this point both are under Mets contracts for next season and roles need to be decided.

For now, just enjoy it while you can.

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