This is a tough week to pick a winner for who is doing best in the minor league system.  It comes down to three players in AA who are all deserving of the weekly MVP award.

Full Name: Rafael Montero

Born: 10/17/1990

Birthplace: Higuerito, Dominican Republic

Height: 6′ 0″

Weight: 170

Bats: R

Throws: R

 

Montero has started 4 games this young season and sports some radical numbers.  In 22.2 innings he’s managed to get 27 K’s and only given up 1 BB.  All of this with only 4 ER and 15 hits!  Montero’s a control pitcher who profiles as a #3 pitcher but is getting results similar to an Ace at the moment.  He does not have dynamite stuff, but he’s looking to potentially move past Zach Wheeler in terms of his timeline to the majors.

Full Name: Jacob DeGrom

Born: 06/19/1988

Birthplace: Deleon Springs, FL

College: Stetson U

Height: 6′ 4″

Weight: 185

Bats: L

Throws: R

 

You might ask, how can you put DeGrom on the same level with Montero but the answer is remarkably simple.  DeGrom was promoted to AA this week and in his first outing at the level threw 8 innings of 3 hit, 1 run ball.  He walked only 1 batter and struck out 8.  DeGrom is not going back down to Port St. Lucie and has likely moved up in the Top 20 for the organization in the course of a single start.

Full Name: Cory Vaughn

Born: 05/01/1989

Birthplace: Carmichael, CA

College: San Diego St.

Height: 6′ 3″

Weight: 225

Bats: R

Throws: R

 

Then there is Vaughn… Some people you will read don’t like him.  He strikes out too much (about once per game), he’s streaky (as they come) and his swing is “broken”.  The fact is that when Vaughn is locked in… he’s LOCKED IN! In the last 10 games he has an OPS of 1.123 to go along with 11 Runs, 13 RBI, 2 doubles and 3 HRs.  He even swiped a bag!  This is a make or break year for Vaughn as he needs to prove he has a future before the Mets look outside the organization for help.

THEN…  After all of that… we STILL need to talk about:

THE THREE AMIGOS!

Brandon Nimmo, Kevin Plawecki and Jayce Boyd are still tearing Full Season A apart.  The trio seems to be supremely locked in.

  • Nimmo: .424/.513/.576, 18 Runs, 11 RBI, 1 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR and 2 SB
  • Plawecki: .381/.444/.667, 11 Runs, 16 RBI, 9 2B, 3 HR
  • Boyd: .388/.468/.537, 10 Runs, 16 RBI, 7 2B, 1 HR

 

AAA:

Juan Lagares is proving me wrong – A line of .346/.378/.551 on the year and it looks like Lagares got my memo that he needed to show some power.  He has 3 2B, 2 3B, and 3 HR on the year.

Andrew Brown is fighting for a shot – He’s hitting the ball and showing gap power but the Mets don’t seem overly concerned with their current OF configuration.

Wilmer Flores breaking out? – He’s hitting in almost every game he plays and has even begun to show some power he’s not walking much but he’s also not striking out.

Travis d’Arnaud is hurt – He’ll be out for a while which will delay his promotion to the majors and might unfortunately handicap Sandy in trading Buck.

Collin McHugh is not a savior – While I still like McHugh he showed fans why he isn’t yet in the majors with 5.1 inning stinker where he gave up 13 hits.

Zack Wheeler is also not ready – 4 ER and 6 BBs in 4.1 innings is not something that we want to see again.

AA:

Blake Forsythe knows the end is nigh – and he’s making the most of it by finally living up to his power and hitting potential.  Is it too late?

Jack Leathersich finding the zone – he’s cutting down the walks and still striking people out.  He’s still not given up a run.

Luis Mateo gets hurt – Mateo will likely be headed back down to Port St. Lucie once he’s well.

A+:

Matt Reynolds looking good – I didn’t put him on my top 20 and I am starting to regret it.  He has little value as a 3B but as a SS he’s got PLUS hitting potential.

Domingo Tapia fully rebounded – Two starts past that bit of ugliness and Tapia is back on track.

Hansel Robles rolling along – Nothing phenomenal but he’s certainly doing well in Port St. Lucie thus far.

Noah Syndergaard is human – These bad outings happen.  It’s important for player development for them to happen so we can see how the player responds.

Full Season A:

Rainy Lara struggles – Not a terrible outing but still a bump in the road.

Matthew Bowman sailing smoothly – He didn’t impress me overly in Brooklyn but he’s pitching well in Savannah.  Sad truth is that LOTS of pitchers succeed at this level.

Steven Matz shines – He’s healthy and with each outing I feel a little more confident that he can reach the majors as a dominating lefty.

4 comments on “Mets Minors: 4-22, MVP’s – Rafael Montero, Jacob DeGrom and Cory Vaughn (AA)

  • Metsense

    I can’ t wait until the Three Amigos come to my town in early May. I hope to see Matz pitch also.
    David, if you can forgive Syndergard then why not show a little love for McHugh. Besides he writes a cool blog.Don’t worry if it is job security you fear, you may not be a John or James, but you write pretty good. Collin isn’ t a savior and you don’t write in chapter and verse, but maybe he is an answer. If not now, when?

    • David Groveman

      If you have just challenged me to write in Iambic Pentameter… CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

      I like McHugh a lot but he’s a lower tier of talent. He tops out as a #5 pitcher and while I think he could be the future #5 for the Mets I also see this team being without a “True” #5 pitcher.

  • Name

    Just saw a report that from Rubin that Lagares is coming up soon.

    My guess is Kirk would be going down. I don’t know. It’s kind of unexpected and we’ll see.

    • David Groveman

      I can’t believe that they would look to Lagares as more than a bench player. It would give them another right handed outfielder who can play all outfield positions. It may also be that they see something fixable with Nieuwenhuis. Hard to say.

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