“HOW THE HECK DID THESE PROSPECTS DO SO POORLY?”
Some guys in their Mets minors tutelage phase literally performed far below my (and others’) pre-season expectations for most if not all of the 2026 season.
When it comes to hitters…
Climbing the minor league ladder is simply…
Survival of the Hittest.
Poor pitchers OTOH can and do cough up excessive bases on balls and HRs.
That being said…
Let’s consider my top 10 flops of 2026…
- I add in where they landed in my Top 50 list a year ago, in parens:
Ryan Lambert (2025 rank: # 17) - through September 13, an 8.00 ERA in 27 innings, with 30 walks and 4 hit batsmen. Handing out more freebies than Freddy Krueger of Halloween. I worried about him when I saw him throw a particularly bad outing in spring training, which I thought was jitters, but was more of a warning sign of things to come.
Last year, in A and AA, a stellar 1.62 ERA with 81 Ks in 50 innings, and prior to spring training, I hoped he would break camp with the Mets. Not even close.
Ryan Clifford (2025 rank: # 6) - I was hopeful pre-season that he would improve over his decent 2025 that had him ranked as high as the Mets minor league prospect. Instead, his 2026 was kind of weak starting out, then collapsed in an heap after mid-May. Ks in incredible quantities. .178, with 170 Ks in 111 AAA games. I wrote the following in my ranking last year for Clifford, which he apparently did not read:
…to Clifford, I would say: ”OK, you’ve proved you can walk a lot, now ATTACK!” Be aggressive. Less walks, higher average, more HRs. Essentially: From here on out, please be the next Nick Kurtz. Attack.I bring up his need to ATTACK, because others are already inferring it, but not saying it directly. Who are those “others”? The people who put together Baseball Top 100 lists, who do not include Clifford. ATTACK!
Colin Houck (2025 rank: # 42) - the former 32nd overall pick in 2023, Houck was horrific most of the year, strikeout-wise, but he finished 12 for his last 42, which might be an indicator of turnaround progress. He ended up hitting .212 in 99 High A games, with 154 Ks. He is well down the infield prospects list in the Mets system now, and needs to figure it out or exit stage right after 2027.
Antonio Jimenez (2025 rank: # 22) - the 102nd overall pick in 2025, Jimenez hit an OK .247 while in low A St Lucie, but just .160 in 54 Brooklyn High A games.
Daiverson Gutierrez (2025 rank: # 30) - he did skip a level from the FCL to High A Brooklyn, but hit just .198, due to a ghastly .155 average ON THE ROAD. I cut him slack, since he jumped over St. Lucie and I expect the just-turned 21 year old catcher to improve in 2027 at the plate.
Jacob Reimer (2025 rank: # 7) - he substantially step things up up late in the season, but only got into 88 AA games. Prior to the season, I was certain he’d be promoted to AAA by midseason. He’s missed more than 40% of games over the past 3 seasons. He was hitting .212 when he got hurt on June 17. He hit much better for average after he returned, but with diminished power. Not a complete wash out season, but a big disappointment, far below most everyone’s expectations.
Brendan Girton (2025 rank: # 29) - in 16 relief outings and 15 starts in AA, he went just 1-4, 6.72, more than double his 2025 ERA of 3.10.
Joel Diaz (2025 rank: # 40) - 0-9, 6.75 ERA, 1.89 WHIP? Ouch. He was somewhat better in the second half, but a very bad season pitching in pitcher-friendly Brooklyn. So, Girton and Diaz pitched in 50 games and went 1-13. (Will Watson was 0-7, so that trio went 1-20.)
Eli Serrano III (2025 rank: # 20) - the 111th overall pick in 2024 came into 2026 ranked pretty highly (less highly by me) due to his perceived tools. Injuries came, and the lefty outfielder’s season was abysmal. 265 at bats, and a .185 average renders him a suspect rather than a prospect. Career .209 hitter in 652 pro at bats is simply NG.
- Ask me anything more about Serrano III, and I will take the 5th.
Boston Baro (2025 rank: # 24) - how could I be disappointed with a guy who hits .324 with a .395 OBP?
Being limited to 38 PAs due to his shoulder(?) injury, that’s how.
- If he gets 100% healthy next year, watch out. The talent is there.
Any Mets minor league players that I did not list here that you felt should have made this Truly Troubled Ten List?
When NO Mets minor league team makes the playoffs, trust me, there are > 10 Troubled Players in River City.
DON’T GET TOO DANGED EXCITED BY LOWER MINORS STATS
They may indicate future major league success…
…or just the ability to succeed at lower minor league levels.
Two past pitchers come to mind as examples:
1. Jaison Valera
In 2016-18 in the low minors, Vilera tossed 193 innings, allowed just 131 hits, and was 13-4 with a 1.80 ERA. CANNOT MISS, RIGHT?
Wrong. From 2019 -2022, he went 8-18, allowing 145 runs in 178 innings.
So 2016-18 forecast nothing, really.
2. Mark Cohoon
He pitched in the Mets minors 2008-13.
He was 9-2, 2.15 in Low A.
He was 9-3, 1.97 in Full A.
- So far, so great.
But…he declined as opponents’ abilities inclined.
He was 23-23, 3.86 in AA.
He was 4-12, 6.77 in AAA.
So his early seasons forecasted…well…nothing, really.
Coming Soon…
Keep An Eye Out For…
My Top Ten Minor League Outperforming Delights in 2026.
SAW THIS IN A FACEBOOK POST:
Trevor Rogers on Pete Alonso:
"He's one of the best teammates ever. ... It's probably the best second half performance I've ever seen from a hitter. He could very well be a Hall of Famer when it's all said and done. The fact that I played with him, it's special."
Sentiments like that don’t show up in an Excel schedule.
METS GAME 162 FAREWELL THEME SONG
“I’m Going Home”, by 10 Years After.
“The song became a massive cultural touchstone after the band performed an explosive, high-energy rendition of it at the Woodstock Festival on August 17, 1969.”
The New York Mets won on August 17, 1969, by the way, defeating the San Diego Padres by a score of 3–2 at Shea Stadium.
We Metsies these days, tho’, always head home after game 162, don’t we?
FOR US…IT IS 40 YEARS AFTER.
CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR A ROUGHLY “60 YEARS AFTER” LISTEN!
8 comments:
Nice, positive post
Cocoons was moved too fast. Jumped two slots. Also, coaches in AA absolutely screwed him up. Shame. Good pitcher. Better person
The positive side is coming soon.
My new nickname for Benge and Ewing:
'B&E'
(breaking & entering)
Nice. I will go with “Respect The Wall, Y’All” Boys.
Regarding Reimer. He will need to put on the 40-man roster in November to be protected in the Rule 5 draft. If there is a lock-out, he will be restricted from access to the Mets facilities and coaches. On top of the injury missed time, this could set him back development wise also.
Not sure Reimer is going to be the player everyone initially thought. I would not use the roster slot to protect him - there are other priorities.
My hopes is Reimer is NOT protected
The ability to stay healthy is so vital to a player’s value. He gets a D on that.
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