Tom Brennan - METS PROSPECTS # 31 THRU # 35

Tom Brennan - METS PROSPECTS # 31 THRU # 35

In the first 6 in this series of 10 articles on the Mets Top 50 prospects, I expounded on my Top 30.

Iexplained why I felt Messrs. Alonso, Gimenez, Peterson, Mauricio, Kay, Vientos, Szapucki, Lindsay, Alvarez, Richardson, Kilome, Hernandez, Nido, Valdez, Humphreys, Newton, Toffey, Sanchez, Dibrell, Cecchini, Mazeika, Winaker, Paez, Vilera, Thompson, Cortes, Gilliam, Brodey and Hanhold were my indisputable #1 thru # 30, respectively.  

You missed my pearls of wisdom on them?  Go back and read them!

OK, OK, newly acquired guys like RHP Kyle Dowdy should be in my list, and aren't yet, but he is a top 20 Mets prospect to me, based on my logic in a recent article on Kyle (read it if you missed it) - I will add him after this 10 part article series is finished.

Today, I move on to the indisputable # 31 thru # 35 dudes.




# 31  TIM TEBOW  OF

Same age as his prospect ranking.  Too bad he isn't 1 years old.

Sure, he is about as old (at age 31) as the two youngest Mets prospects combined, 17 year old Junior Santos pointed out to me, but Timmy T was having an almost meteoric rise in AA in his second season before his hamate bone required season-ending surgery.   He hit .318 in June and July, up to the time of his injury, spanning a significant 39 games.  That ain't chump change in AA.

i like to remind people that he hit better in his second year at a level as high as AA than anyone else in organized Mets baseball - except, perhaps, for the recently acquired-by-trade Will Toffey, who had to go and ruin this great talking point for me.

Tebow, who also has played good defensively, could well end up in a major league outfield in 2019...and not just because his name is Tim Tebow.  

Can he defy the naysayers?  Could a miracle be coming in 2019 to Queens?  

# 32  MICKEY JANNIS  RHSP

I like him almost as much as Janis Joplin.  "Whoa, baby, whoa, whoa, whoa."

The knuckleballer, who turns a young (for knuckle ball pitchers) 32 years of age did quite all right in 2018, going 10-6, 3,60 in AA.  

Let's forget about his short, painful time with Las Vegas, shall we, but let's fondly think soothing thoughts about his stellar 2.19 ERA over his last 10 outings.    That shows this side show may be moving front and center.

We used to think R.A. Dickey was a farce - until he won a Cy Young award as a NY Met in very different fashion than this year's winner, Jake (Seaver) deGrom.  Don't count Jannis out of a big league career yet - or you'll get Phil Niekro mad.  He could become a nice trade chip if he can continue his climb successfuly.

# 33 KEVIN KACZMARSKI  IF

K Kacz is a very solid player, but his continuing lack of power increase disturbs me and causes me to push him down into the 30's.  He did hit .300 in 60 Vegas contests last year, but ZERO homers in that hitters' paradise.  Hmmm...

He returns in 2019 at age 27, 4 years older than Messrs. Winaker and Brodey, whom I now rank above Kacz.  

A make-or-break age for the K Man.  I'm sure he noticed that wunderkind Jeff McNeil cranked up his power a lot, to his great benefit - but can Kacz?  He badly needs to.

# 34  CHRIS VIALL  RHRP

The righty throws real hard, up into the high 90's, with a solid curve, and strikes out a ton, but is a wild work in progress.  So was Nolan Ryan.

Career, 152 Ks and 72 walks in 112 innings.  Just 3-12, 4.79 in his career.  In 4 of his starts in 2018, though, he threw a total of 20 innings and fanned an amazing 42.  Which makes even the most jaded say "Wow".  

A former 6th rounder in 2016, he's 6'9", 253, and a fellow beanstalk named Randy Johnson kind of started out the same way, walking 333 in 462 minor league innings - and he did OK eventually, am I right?  

I am hoping for a true breakthrough for Viall in 2019.  Why not?  

We could use a righty version of Randy Johnson on the Mets.

# 35 LUIS CARPIO  IF

He could well belong higher.  He hit 12 homers and 21 doubles in 441 PAs in St Lucie in 2018, adding surprising power to his repertoire, but hit just .219.  

His BABIP was quite low, so his batting average may surge in 2019 just by normalizing his BABIP level.  Luis has been solid, if not spectacular, in the field.  

He has lots of IF competition, and needs to shine in 2019 to move forward.     S/B in Binghamton to start 2019.  

My first 35 picks have been surveilled, scrutinized, and documented.  

Let's move on in a few days to picks # 36 thru # 40.