Brodie Van Wagenen has not been particularly lucky as Met General Manager but he’s also done much to hinder himself.  Looking at selling off players, once again we are left to wonder what our future might look like without the worst of Van Wagenen’s moves hanging over the team’s head.

 

Let us remember that regardless of his influence the Mets would be staring at an aging, often injured hitter named Yoenis Cespedes taking up a huge chunk of money through next season.  That combined with the team’s long-standing joke contract with Bobby Bonilla and Brett Saberhagen cannot be construed as Brodie’s fault.  Yet the contract of Robinson Cano (Nearly $100,000,000.00 is fully) his own fault.

 

Since this is Mets Minors I won’t be focussing on the financial stupidity of trading for a veteran, in decline, who is owed this much money.  Instead, I want to talk about a farm system that could have been among the very best in baseball.  Take a look at what I would project the Top 20 prospect list at if the two lost players were still with the team:

 

  1. Jarred Kelenic, OF (A+)
  2. Ronny Mauricio, SS (A)
  3. Francisco Alvarez, C (R+)
  4. Andres Gimenez, SS (AA)
  5. Justin Dunn, RHP (AAA)
  6. Brett Baty, 3B (R+)
  7. Matthew Allan, RHP (R)
  8. Mark Vientos, 3B (A)
  9. Thomas Szapucki, LHP (A+)
  10. Anthony Kay, LHP (AAA)
  11. David Peterson, LHP (AA)
  12. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP (A)
  13. Freddy Valdez, OF (DSL)
  14. Josh Wolf, RHP (R)
  15. Franklyn Kilome, RHP (AA)
  16. Adrian Hernandez, OF (R)
  17. Luis Carpio, IF (AA)
  18. Tony Dibrell, RHP (A+)
  19. Ali Sanchez, C (AA)
  20. Jeremy Vasquez, 1B (A+)

 

The Mets certainly still have talent without these two players but losing players who would both slot into your Top 5 in return for a closer who is struggling and dead weight doesn’t do much to help the team.

 

Jarred Kelenic 2019: (A and A+)

 

 

G AB H 2B 3B HR BB SO OPS SB
78 291 84 20 4 15 37 75 .912 12

 

Justin Dunn 2019: (AA)

 

G IP IP/G ERA H BB K WHIP K/9 BB/9
16 81.1 5.08 3.76 78 24 102 1.25 11.3 2.66

 

To his credit, Brodie Van Wagenen had, what looks like, a very good draft.  Selecting and signing three (3) first round talents but this farm system could have been one of the best in baseball if not for a general manager “trying to put his mark on the team”.

 

AAA:

Syracuse Mets

 

Anthony Kay hopefully finding his footing – His recent 5.2 inning outing saw him give up only 5 hits, 1 ER and 1 BB with 3 Ks of his own.  It isn’t great but it’s certainly better.

 

AA:

Binghamton Rumble Ponies

 

Ali Sanchez cools down – It’ll be fundamentally important to see how Sanchez finishes his year with the Rumble Ponies when evaluating his value.  He needs to keep his OPS above .700 to stay in the Top 20 prospects.

 

Andres Gimenez needs a strong second half – He’s hit .333 over his last 10 games but he needs to make up for lost time or risk falling out of a Top 5 organizational prospect list crowded with very young talent.

 

David Peterson hasn’t had an awful year – He’s certainly not looking like an “Ace” but he’s pitched reasonably well through AA in his first stint there.  I don’t think it would hurt his development to have him start there again in 2020.

 

A+:

St. Lucie Mets

 

Jeremy Vasquez… again – I don’t know how much more clearly I can say it.  He does not belong in Advanced A anymore.  Please promote him to Binghamton already!

 

Kevin Smith is an unsung star – I haven’t talked much about Smith all season.  The 2018 7th round pick for the Mets followed up some solid numbers in Brooklyn with a season of note in advanced A.  His 102 Ks in 85.2 IP are deceptively close to upper rotation-like numbers.

 

Tony Dibrell back at it – He stumbled for a bit but over his last 5 starts he’s only given up 5 earned runs in 29.2 innings pitched.

 

Thomas Szapucki being stretched – He’s in Advanced A and just had his second longest outing of the season (3.1 IP) which is still a good sign for a pitcher who missed the better part of two years.  It’ll take a lot in the second half to convince the Mets to advance him to AA for 2020’s start.

 

Hansel Moreno might have slipped your notice – The former shortstop is now officially being moved into the outfield and seems to have finally begun finding his groove at Advanced A.  He’s hitting .448 over his last 10 games.

 

Soon to pitch… Jordan Humphreys Expect more innings this week.

 

A:

Columbia Fireflies

 

Here comes Mark Vientos – We’ve been hinting at a surge coming for a few weeks and we seem to be seeing that production shine through.  He’s hitting .361 over his last 10 games and showing power as well.

 

Simeon Woods Richardson tosses a nice one – With 5 IP, 2 hits, 1 walk and 6 strikeouts it’s outings like this that will remind us of the potential he has.

 

Wagner Lagrange is on the fringes – He’s done enough in 2019 to suggest following him moving forward.  He will be in the Top 50 prospect list, but where depends on the rest of his year.

 

Who is Hayden Senger The catcher was a 24th round pick in 2018 but he’s hit in both his stints with the Mets minors.  Currently he’s sporting a .792 OPS in Columbia.

 

SS:

Brooklyn Cyclones

 

Branden Fryman gathering stats – He started in the GCL, where he was too old to take seriously.  Now, playing with others his age, the skinny shortstop is still hitting the ball very well.

 

R+:

Kingsport Mets

 

Francisco Alvarez is making a run at Top Prospect – He’s 17, he’s playing in the Advanced Rookie League and, after a few games to settle, he’s absolutely raking.

 

Jaylen Palmer is interesting – The Mets have a few too many players for a few too few positions right now.  Palmer is hitting well but has Mark Vientos ahead of him and Brett Baty behind him.

 

Brett Baty shows some pop – He’s still finding his footing, post promotion, but he’s hit 2 home runs in his last 2 games.

 

R:

GCL Mets

 

Endy Rodriguez looks like a hitting catcher – He hasn’t shown much power but he is hitting .343 after his mid-season promotion from the DSL.

 

Josh Wolf and Matthew Allan may appear soon – They are both officially on the team and listed as active.  I am hoping to have innings to report on next week.

 

DSL:

Mets 1 & 2

 

Carlos Dominguez shows off his wheels – He’s already proven some hitting ability but his 4 stolen bases in the last 10 games are important too.

 

Federico Polanco is strong for his size – The 5’10” infielder is hitting .405 over his last 10 games and has 14 extra base hits this season.

 

8 comments on “Mets Minors: Jarred Kelenic and the farm system that could have been

  • TexasGusCC

    Always a fun article to read, but have to ask:

    Vasquez slash last year at A+: 184 PA, .264/.342/.393/.735
    Vasquez slash this year at A+: 373 PA, .278/.357/.388/.745
    This from a first baseman? Those are crappy SS numbers. Why do you like this guy so much?

    Surprised Kevin Smith wasn’t in top 20. He is a lefty, and that 1.25 WHIP is with 83 hits in 85 innings. Usually that will come down as the defense behind him improves in the upper levels. How far after the 20 is he?

    Otherwise, without Kelenic, just alot of B and C prospects. Mauricio is getting a little love, but that’s because he’s still young, not because he’s killing it.

    Where’s Junior Santos on this list? Where is Newton, who missed the spring and has lately been hitting over .300? Where’s Mazeika? Where’s Desmond Lindsey? LIterally! LOLLLLLLLLL

    • David Groveman

      Kevin Smith might end the year on this list but he came from obscurity and I wasn’t willing to take him from NR to Top 20 just yet.

      Junior Santos might be in the Top 20 without Dunn and Kelenic somewhere at the bottom.

      You are wrong about the Mets just having B and C prospects but negativity is what it is.

      Of the Top 20 (currently with the team) I count 8 or 9 “A” prospects.

      • TexasGusCC

        Giminez could be an A since he’s already at AA, if he was doing better this year. Also, Newton isn’t on the list and is a B prospect, to me.

        I understand that it’s only your opinion, but to me an A prospect is Kelenic, and I don’t see 8 or 9 Kelenic(s) on this list. Hopefully, they blossom into A prospects.

  • Mike Walczak

    We just did well in the amateur draft. Lets hope we can spin Wheeler into a good prospect. Spilled Milk, Kelenic and Dunn are gone. Who knows is they pan out. They aren’t Fernando Tatis or Vlad jr type prospects.

    • David Groveman

      Kelenic might be but I agree about how well we did in the draft.

  • Peter Hyatt

    Worse than the $, is the years we are stuck with Cano.

    Sorry, McNeil. We, too wonder how Alonso would have not w protection behind him.

    See Rosario’s fielding decline & his recent benching to gauge Cano influence.

    As to prospects, I think a lot of Met fans are watching Kelenic.

  • Rob

    Not sold on Dunn but Kelenic very well could be something. With money Mets took on I didn’t see a reason to move him. Still a wait and see. I thought cory Vaughn would have been top player.

  • Blair M. Schirmer

    “Let us remember that regardless of his influence the Mets would be staring at an aging, often injured hitter named Yoenis Cespedes taking up a huge chunk of money through next season. That combined with the team’s long-standing joke contract with Bobby Bonilla and Brett Saberhagen cannot be construed as Brodie’s fault.”

    — Cespedes’ insurance covers 2/3 to 3/4 of his contract in 2019, and may well cover the same in 2020. The amount owed Bonilla and Sabes is trivial.

    As for the Mets farm, just adding Kelenic and Dunn back into it wouldn’t get it anywhere near average, let alone good. Their farm is closer to the bottom than to the middle. It’s worth noting the Mets absurd deal for Broxton then dumping him (his OPS has been 200 points higher than Lagares’ since the Mets DFA’ed him) also cost them 3 minor leagues, one of whom, Santana, was actually promising.

    milb.com gives the Mets farm system a “C” grade even with their weird pretense that Alonso still figures into the ranking. Without him, which is the right way to look at things, the system is surely a D, at best.

    https://www.milb.com/milb/news/midseason-farm-system-grades-national-league/c-308694104

    What a fiasco. Well, that’s what happens when the clowns running the circus add their completely unqualified pal to cosplay GM.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 100 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, code, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here