We continue the series where we project the rosters for the 2017 minor league systems. In AA you won’t find a lot of Top Tier prospects but you will find one very big “name”.
Lineup:
1. Champ Stuart, CF
2. Jeff McNeil, 2B
3. Kevin Kaczmarski, RF
4. David Thompson, 3B
5. Tomas Nido, C
6. Phillip Evans, SS
7. Tim Tebow, LF
8. Kevin Taylor, 1B
9. Jayce Boyd, DH
Rotation:
1. Corey Oswalt – RHP
2. Chris Flexen – RHP
3. P.J. Conlon – LHP
4. Ricky Knapp – RHP
5. Casey Delgado – RHP
Bullpen:
1. Tim Peterson – Closer – RHP
The Outfield:
There is no question, this team’s outfield isn’t great. Stuart and Patrick Biondi aren’t anything special but the more I watch Kaczmarski, the more I think he might be. Kaczmarski success in 2015 was discounted because of his age. His success in 2016 is a little harder to ignore. He has the ceiling of a 4th outfielder with some power and speed. The other major name you’ll notice is Tebow. Before everyone calls me crazy for skipping all the lower levels, understand that their is a dearth of outfield position players of note and Tebow is crazy old to be lower in the minors. He might totally fail in Binghamton but chances are, he’d fail wherever the Mets put him. Perhaps lightning will find itself bottled and perhaps Tebow’s presence in Binghamton will revitalize the AA affiliate’s ticket sales.
The Infield:
The Binghamton squad is definitely lacking in star power. While Thompson and Nido aren’t bad players there aren’t any that you really expect big things from. Some people will be surprised to see Phillip Evans repeating at the AA level, but the Mets are better off letting Evans play everyday in AA than playing as a super-sub in AAA. Hopefully McNeil can put together a healthy campaign in 2017 and reclaim some of his potential.
The Pitching:
While the hitting in AA isn’t too impressive, there are a lot of pitchers to watch. Oswalt, Flexen and Conlon all look like they can cut it as starting pitchers at the major league level. The pitcher I’m most excited about is Peterson who was supernatural before his mid-season promotion. If he can re-discover his Advanced A success in AA he’s a future closer in the making.
Michael Jordan started in Double-A, too.
I know it’s a roster crunch but Phillip Evans doesn’t belong back in Double-A. Or if he is, maybe he should be playing the OF.
AAA’s infield is mighty crowded and I want Evans to get the playing time.
The problem that I have with Tebow is that he would be taking a roster spot of a more deserving player.
What AA-level outfielders are we really seeing as being more deserving? Patrick Biondi and Champ Stuart aren’t really prospects.
Evans had a .384 babip in AA… Low Strikeout rate…and 4.9% walk rate. That’s some kind of wacky Line!!!!
Send him to AAA…. let him learn another Glove or Two….but it’s hard to Believe in it yet.
Binghamton must be salivating at the thought of Tebow. It’s a bad stadium in a crappy neighborhood. Mets should be figuring their long-term exit strategy.
I will be…..stunned, if Tim Tebow is someone we are discussing come July next. Start him at AA ball? I think Brooklyn would be an aggressive assignment.
Jimmy P hit the nail on the head.
Binghamton needs the positive press and there aren’t any AA outfielders for Tebow to steal a job from. It’s a low-risk maneuver.
Tebow isn’t ready for AA. Tebow just hit .286 in instructional league against kids 19-21. Still think Buccera will be on the roster. Tebow to Brooklyn might not be a bad idea, after all the Coupons own the team.
I think the AA team with Buccera is a solid middle of the road team. Nido is developing, McNeil is a good hitter and the pitching staff seems solid.
I have no idea about Tebow’s final level. But you can’t quote BA based on 14 ABs. For the first months, or year, it’s entirely about process, learning the game, fixing the swing. Likely he will suck, there’s no precedent that suggests he’ll succeed, but I don’t think the focus should be on results. You want the scouts to figure out if there’s a ball player in there. I don’t think what he hit in his first 14 professional ABs tells us anything, except maybe if he’s got ML bat speed or not. Speaking to the point on ownership, they may prefer to tour him through various levels, as I’d guess the “Tebow Effect” will diminish after an initial attendance spike.
Well, yes you do want to learn if there’s a ballplayer in there, Jimmy. The Mets had the same job facing them with Nimmo and Des Lindsay, since Nimmo had an almost nonexistent resume and Lindsay had spent much of his high school years hurt. So in both cases the first stop was the instructional league teams, where they could get themselves some instruction. Hence the name, Instructional League.
Of course, in the cases of Nimmo and Lindsay, the answer to the question of whether there is a ballplayer here could have been “yes,” unlike with this present exercise.
I’ll add this thought, since the whole idea pisses me off entirely: minor league baseball is still supposed to be baseball; a series of contests between teams of athletes, with the object being to win the games as they are player. This basic purpose is already compromised plenty to conform to the needs of the parent teams; compromising it further to put on a side show to drag in a few rubes, is simply too much. Nothing against Tebow, who seems like a nice enough man. But the rest of those players are there because they earned their berth.
I guess I don’t take it that seriously.
Tebow is an athlete. He’s a hard worker. He’s a man of solid character.
And he hasn’t played baseball in a long, long time.
For a wide assortment of reasons, the Mets took a flyer on him. He’s a longshot at best, and the only downside is that it’s potentially a distraction (to somebody, maybe) and an obstacle for better players (which I don’t believe is the case).
It could be that other players might actually benefit from having him around. I don’t know. I’m just not upset by it.
I think of Tebow, then I think of the ocean T. J. Rivera had to cross to get to the other side; and it bothers me.
What about it bothers you? Tebow has already put in countless hours of hard work. It just happened to be in a different sport.
The Mets own the Brooklyn and St. Lucie affiliates, they do not have an ownership stake in the Binghamton team. I don’t think they signed him to make other people money. I expect him to end up in Florida.
Brooklyn is a Money Maker assignment, but its a Death Trap for Tebow and the Kids there. The Media presence woul crush everyone exposed to it.
As for “building a Player/Swing”— it’s a great athletic frame to hang baseball skills, but he’s past a long skill buildout. Extended Spring…GCL… then off to the Fireflies to fish or cut bait.
If he makes it to St Lucie in the 2nd hald, it would be amazing progress.
I would not sacrifice a 22 year old ab until he showed some worth—and I hope he does!