Mack – Weekly Update on the Future
I’m currently following 20 prospects that I feel have a future in Queens. I will update weekly what they have accomplished positively over the past seven days. It will be positive highlights. I will leave the negatives to Tom in comment form and some of the rest of you.
Names might be removed and new ones might be added. Recent
promotions of Carson Benge, AJ Ewing, Jonah Tong, Jonathan Pintaro, Zach
Thornton, and Nick Morabito have proven
that the youth rebuild has begun. These additional 19 Mets prospects are the
future of this team.
SP Jack Wenninger/AAA-Syracuse
–
On
5-20: 8-ST, 3-1, 2.92, 1.20,
35.2-IP, 39-K, 22-BB
Wenninger was scheduled to start on Saturday but was 🌧 out.
He did start Game 1 on Sunday which was not his best outing: 5.1-IP, 6-H, 4-ER, 5-K, 2-BB, 86/50
Still, his overall numbers are still good.
On
5-27: 9-ST, 3-2, 2.20, 1.22, 41-IP, 44-K, 24-BB
I still have Wenninger as the current top Mets starter prospect.
SP Jonah Tong/AAA-Syracuse
–
On
5-20: 9-ST, 1-3, 5.68, 1.36,
38-IP. 55-K, 24-BB
On Friday morning, Tong was promoted to MLB-Mets. I don't know at this point if this is a one and done, so I will keep him around until that seems to be determined.
And with that, this loss to the Marlins may have just served as the reintroduction to someone that can help the Mets rotation, going forward... three glorious, scoreless innings. Fastball hit 98.5. Pitches: 28/17.
Note: Now has the largest one-year drop in 4-seam arm angle of any pitcher in baseball. Big overall improvement with a little loss of depth.
On Wednesday, 3.2 more 0-ER innings, though only one strikeout, four walks, and just too many pitches thrown.
On 5-27: MLB - 0.2-WAR, 0-0, 0.00
Overall, a really good week for Jonah. I expect him to graduate from this opener bullshite next week and get back to being a real starter.
Next week also looks like the last week I will track Tong as a minor leaguer.
SP Zach Thornton/AAA-Syracuse
I originally didn't have Zach on this list. He was already in Queens. But, on Saturday, he was banished back to Syracuse and replaced by reliever Jonathan Pintaro.
Many players, that are sent back to the minors, mentally look upon this kind of move as a demotion and start off slowly back in the minors. So the story of Thornton on Wednesday in his forst return outing for Syracuse: 4.1-IP, 7-H, 6-ER, 2-BB, 2-K, THREE HOME RUNS... 4.96.
On 5/27: MLB: -0.1-WAR, 0-1, 8.31
AAA/AA: 7-ST, 1-3, 3.16, 1.19, 37-IP, 40-K, 12-BB
Tough week for Zach. I expect an immediate bounce back next week.
RP Ryan Lambert/AAA-Syracuse
On
5-20: 15-APPS, 1-0, 6.23,
1.61, 13-IP, 20-K, 12-BB
Lambert continued on Sunday getting his game in shape. He pitched another scoreless innings, walking one, and striking out three. Fastball hit 98+ and all three strikeouts were whiffs.
On 5-27: 16-APPS, 1-0, 5.79, 1.57, 14-IP, 23-K, 13-BB
RP Jonathan Pintaro/AAA-Syracuse and MLB/Mets:
On Saturday, the Mets recalled Pintaro. At this point in the season, he had one 15 relief appearances for Syracuse (2-0, 2.81, 1.13, 25.2-IP, 32-K, 12-BB).
A good first impression on Saturday afternoon for the Mets: 1.0-IP, 0-H, 0-R, 0.00.
On Memorial Day, he was stretched out to 2.2 hitless, scoreless innings, with three strikeout. You can't ask for more than this and his MLB ERA continues to be 0.00.
On Tuesday, he was optioned back to AAA-Syracuse when AJ Minter was activated.
On 5-27: MLB - 0.1-WAR, 0-0, 0.00
AAA - 2-0, 2.81, 1.13, 15-APPS, 25.2-IP, 32-K, 12-BB
RP Dylan Ross/AAA-Syracuse
–
On
5-20: 3-LEVELS, 11-APPS,
3-0, 1.54, 0.94, 11.2-IP, 13-K, 8-BB
Did not strengthen his case on Thursday, giving up two earned runs in 0.2-IP. AAA ERA soared to 4.32; however, he bounced back on Sunday, going scoreless in 0.2-IP and giving up only one hit.
Blew up on Memorial Day - 0.1-IP, 4-ER, BB, K
On
5-27: 2-1, 7.71, 10-APPS, 11-BB, 9.1-IP, 8-ER, 12-K.
I am removing Ross from this weekly update going forward. He simply is not prospect material right now
RP Anderson Severino/AAA-Syracuse
–
On
5-20: 15-APPS, 2-0, 0.98,
0.92, 18.1-IP, 19-K, 8-BB
5-21: 0.1-IP 1-ER, 3-BB
5-24: 1-IP, 0-R, 0-H, K
On
5-27: 2-0, 1.37, 1.06, 17-APPS, 19.2-IP, 20-K, 11-BB
RP Ben Simon/AAA-Syracuse
–
On 5-19, Simon was promoted to Syracuse after going 14-apps, 1-2, 2.35, 1.11, 15.1-IP, 18-K, 5-BB, for Binghamton.
On 5-20: 1-APP, 1-0, 0.00, 0.75, 1.1-IP, 0-K, 1-BB.
He followed this on 5-22 with 1-IP, 0-R
Memorial Day: 1-IP, 1-H, 1-R, BB, K, 2.70
On
5-27: AAA - 1-0, 2.70, 1.80, 3-APPS, 3.1-IP, K, 4-BB
Starting off at the AAA level a little wild, but let's give him a chance to get adjusted here.
OF Nick Morabito/MLB-Mets & AAA-Syracuse -
Morabito started this week as a member of the parent squad, so I didn't save what his stats were on 5/20 at either the MLB or AAA level.
On Tuesday, he was optioned back to AAA-Syracuse at the same time OF Jared Young was activated off the IL list. His stats ten were:
5/26 - Mets: -0.3-WAR, 11-AB, 0-H, .000
Syr: 146-AB, 4-HR, 17-RBI, .253/.364/.390/.755
SP Jonathan Santucci/AA-Binghamton
–
On
5-20: 8-ST, 0-5, 4.95, 1.37,
36.1-IP, 46-K, 19-BB
On Tuesday, Santucci had another so-so start... 4.2-IP, 4-H, 2-ER, 2-BB, an impressive 7-K, 4.83.
On
5-27: 9-ST, 0-5, 4.83, 1.36, 41-IP, 53-K, 21-BB
I'm still waiting for Santucci to break out this season and show he was worth a second-round draft pick.
RP Saul Garcia/AA-Binghamton
–
On
5-20: 16-APPS, 0-1, 5.51,
1.22, 16.1-IP, 25-K, 4-BB
Garcia pitched on Saturday... 2-IP, 0-R, 4-K
He followed this up on Tuesday... 1-IP, 0-H, 0-R, K
On
5-27: 18-APPS, 0-1, 4.66, 1.08, 19.1-IP, 30-K, 4-BB
Garcia is working hard to erase a poor start on this season.
C Chris Suero/AA-Binghamton
–
On
5-20: 106-AB, 26-BB, 7-HR,
18-RBI, .198/.374/.453/.827
On
5-27: 121-AB, 30-BB, 7-HR, 19-RBI, .182/.361/.413/.774
I am removing Suero off this report. He simply is not prospect material right now.
3B Jacob Reimer/AA-Binghamton
–
On
5-20: 121-AB, 4-HR, 10-RBI,
22-BB, .222
Went 1-4 on Thursday...
On
5-27: 135-AB, 4-HR, 12-RBI, .215/.345/.393/.738
I'll give Reimer a few more weeks to pull these numbers up before I yank him from the report.
SP Channing Austin/A+
Brooklyn –
On
5-20: 8-ST, 2-1, 1.17, 1.09,
38.1-IP. 48-K, 22-BB
On Tuesday, Austin was promoted to AA-Binghamton.
On
5-27: AA - no appearances yet
A+ - 8-ST, 2-1, 1.17, 1.09, 38.1-IP. 48-K, 22-BB
On Thursday, Austin was placed on the IL. No details were provided.
OF JT Benson/A+ Brooklyn
–
On
5-20: 8-AB, 1-RBI,
,125/.125/.250/.375
Benson was promoted to Brooklyn earlier this month, after going .276/.361/.578/.938 for A-St. Lucie.
On Sunday, JT took a ball to his head. He was not back in the lineup on Tuesday. No word from the Mets on his status.
On 5-27: 20-AB, 0-HR, 4-RBI, .150/.227/.300/.527
St. Lucie - 116-AB, 5-HR, 24-RBI, .276/.361/.578/.938
SP Nicholas Carreno/A-St.
Lucie –
On
5-20: 8-G, 3-ST, 1-0, 1.93,
1.03, 28-IP, 42-K, 14-BB
Carrero pitched four scoreless innings on Saturday, striking out seven, and lowering his ERA to 1.69. For now, I am changing his prospect rating to RED.
On 5-27: 9-G, 4-ST, 1-0, 1.69, 1.03, 32-IP, 49-K, 16-BB
SP Jose Chirinos/A-St.
Lucie –
On 5-20: 7-G, 6-ST, 2-1, 2.93, 1.11, 30.2-IP, 29-K, 6-BB
On Friday, I raised Chirinos to a RED prospect. He didn't start due to a previous commitment to Kodai Senga for a rehab assignment. No biggie. He made up for that in a big way when he followed Senga and did this: 5.1-IP, 3-H, ER, 3-BB, 10-K. He's gonna be eating Coney Dogs real soon, folks.
On
5-27: 8-G, 6-ST, 2-1, 2.75, 1.11, 36-IP, 39-K, 9-BB
1B Randy Guzman/A-St.
Lucie –
On
5-20: 136-AB, 8-HR, 25-RBI, 18-BB,
47-K, .243/.348/.485/.833
Big start to the week on Thursday: 2-4, RBI... followed on Friday with 2-3. Tuesday 1-3.
On
5-27: 150-AB, 8-HR, 26-RBI, 19-BB, 50-K, .260/.362/.493/.855
A nice bump in the numbers across the board. Let's hope it continues.
SS Elian Pena/A-St. Lucie
–
On
5-20: 143-AB, 2-HR, 17-RBI, 25-BB,
31-K, .273/.393/.385/.778
Was rested on Thursday, but reloaded on Friday, going 2-4.
He continued his recovery on Saturday, going 1-3 and raising his batting average to .280.
Tuesday 1-3.
On Wednesday we got back the Mets uber-prospect... 3-4 and a .294 batting average.
On
5-27: 156-AB, 2-HR, 19-RBI, 29-BB, 36-K, .282/.405/.385/.790
I expect the Pena-slump is over and he's back on target to be promoted to Brooklyn before the season ends.
C Yovanny Rodriguez/FCL
Mets –
On 5-20: 41-AB, 5-HR, 12-BB, 4-BB, 11-K,
.293/,356/.683/1.038
Memorial Day: 1-3, 2-RBI, BB, 2-K, .280, .957-OPS
On
5-27: 53-AB, 5-HR, 15-RBI, .264/.339/.566/.905
HELIUM ALERT
There are two guys I'm just not ready to put on this list. One I've never targeted, and the other I have fell for oh so many times.
There's AAA-Syracuse infielder, Christian Arroyo, who currently leads all Mets minor leaguers in runs batted in (RBI), with 31.
The other is... yeah, it's him again... AAA-1B/OF Ryan Clifford, who leads all Mets minor leaguers, with 10 home runs. He also leads in something else, but we'll let Tom discuss this in comment form.
I'm not ready to sign off on either of them though I will raise their prospect status to BLUE.
I see some guys that I will remove from my watch, due to current under-performance.
I already see some more deletions coming.
Plus, look for some new guys next week.
Cya.
13 comments:
Mack, I will hit on a few with my thoughts.
As to Clifford and his very, very high Ks, compare to Morabito, whose Ks in AAA were neither low nor high: Morabito fanned 9 times in 12(?) Mets plate appearances. If you cannot limit your K rate at AAA, you are a damaged prospect. How much would Clifford fan in the big leagues. Right now, MJ Melendez is much better than him. So, for that matter, is former major leaguer Arroyo, who has fanned just 31 times in 40 games in AAA, half of Clifford’s rate.
Carreno and Chirinos doing great. How will they fare when promoted? We will find out soon, I guess.
Lambert is an enigma. I saw his wildness in a spring training outing. In college and the pros, 86 Ks in 125 IP. He has a better chance to fix that wildness issue than his fellow Ryan, Clifford, has at making the Mets. But, if you can’t throw strikes, the Mets won’t call you up.
Dylan Ross? Ditto. Nolan Ryan was like a control pitcher compared to them.
Suero? He can draw walks…but to take the majors, he has to fan less. And hit much more. The only way to hit more and fan less?
Swing more, walk less, fan less.
Santucci is 0-5, in part, because Binghamton’s offense has been miserable. And they don’t let guys go 5 innings much. He will be OK.
Reimer over his last 4 weeks? .246/.370/.462. Not bad, but he must get hot and stay hot. Once again, the home park kills: .186 at home, .250 on the road this year.
Tom
Thank you for your comment.
First of all, I agree with Tom. Clifford cannot be promoted to the majors with such a high K rate. I am sure they are working with him on his approach at the plate, but this has been going on for years now.
Second of all, though the intent was for this to be a positive report, it depressed me. Too many players on this list have shown declining performance and are threatened with removal from the list. These are our best prospects, not fringe guys. What is happening within this development organization?!
Great post. I think the lack of exciting performances in the list scares me. But I do have to keep in mind the Brooklyn Hellscape (I have an interesting article on it, again, on Sunday, and the Binghamton park, both hinder hitters.
But high hitter strikeouts kills careers. Luke Ritter was one. He had 26 homers and 93 RBIs in just 134 games in AAA just a few years ago, but never made it, because he fanned 174 times that year, and always fanned too much.
He is now retired. All the high K guys in the minors eventually retire.
With zero MLB on their resume.
To add onto Paul’s comment, I check minor league box scores just about every night. It is saddening to see the state of thw system and how poorly players are doing this year that we had high hopes for.
Chelsea James in a SNY questions piece said that the Mets better talent is in the low minors and the upper minors have been emptied out of their better prospects.
Agree
The sad news is his ability to strikeout will not go away
Yes, it is depressing
So many of last season's top prospects are currently under water
Who aren't impressing as a major league Met either
Maybe I should kill this weekly column now. It's a ton of work to prepare
Thanks Mack for an interesting and valuable post. Don't stop now. I have no way of knowing if any of my videos or constant comments about Tong' over the top move had any impact on the change, but I will take credit anyway, not for the change, but for being right. And then noticing it while he was pitching recently. I pointed out that he would never get horizontal movement on a curve from his existing angle. He did throw a couple when I saw him on TV but the break was not yet sharp enough. And his arm angle is still in flux and not settled yet, And it really isn't the arm angle that has changed since it was almost always around 3/4 delivery. It was his left lateral bend that has decreased. He reverts to it from time to time and the result at this point when he does so -- almost always on fastballs -- is that they ride high and don't yet have much movement. That's what makes him a work in progress. But I think they are working on the right approach with him thankfully. He doesn't need the deception. He has the stuff. He just needs to work on consistency in his reduced lateral bend to a level that will not threaten his lumbar spine. Once he finds that position he can work on getting a bit more movement on the fastball -- great if it would cut a bit right to left, because his change up off it moves left to right naturally. His angle is not ideal for a sweeper but it can be good for a hard slider and a two seamer. He has a large potential arsenal and a great work ethic and youth. He was his own worst enemy with that delivery; and now the world of pitches can open up for him. As long as he sticks with and stabilizes the change, I think I can become extremely enthusiastic about his long term prospects.
I would be very careful not to rush him into a regular starting role or to count on him in high leverage situations for the simple reason that when you are making body movement pattern changes, you don't want to be too focused on outcomes because if they are not working as you had hoped you will unconsciously revert to what you are more comfortable with and that is precisely what needs to be avoided.
It is obvious that some of the violence has been removed from his delivery
A reduction of K/9 is just fine if he can produce a low ERA
He still needs to work on a reduction of foul balls though
Mack, perhaps a top 2 from each team. Five teams, 10 guys, rather than 19.
Or a Top 5 prospects for teams below AAA, one team per week.
No
I wanted this to show who is doing well right now, not who is sucking.
I'll continue 😌
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