The Mets did two things in very opposite directions at the trade deadline that have severe negative impacts on the status of their farm system. First, the Mets made a trade to try to win in 2021 sending Pete Crow-Armstrong to the cubs in exchange for a Javier Baez rental and some starting pitching depth. This trade stings more for the lack of depth at this position than because of the value. Having traded Jared Kelenic, Crow-Armstrong was supposed to be the future of centerfield for the team. The Mets top outfielder in the organization is now Khalil Lee, who struggled badly in his brief Major League audition.
More troubling is the players the Mets decided not to act on. The Mets determined that they had no interest in signing their first round selection from the amateur draft as they rescinded their signing bonus offer and watched Kumar Rocker decline to join the team. Now, supposing there was a major medical concern you’d think the Mets would have known or had an inkling before drafting him. Instead the Mets have a player, who had been ranked fourth in the organization based upon his draft profile, never actually sign. This leaves the Mets with a dismal 2021 draft class and a farm system that is likely to suffer for years to come.
Were the Mets right to move on from Rocker? If Rocker goes on to have any major league significance the Mets will have egg all over their face for not having shelled out an, MLB insignificant, $6,000,000.00 signing bonus. Even if Rocker goes on to never pitch in the majors the Mets office looks amateurish and foolish for drafting a player they quickly decided they didn’t actually want.
These combined losses to the Mets Top 10 players can and will be felt throughout the organization. The only hope is that the team will spend big on the international market to make up for this grievous oversight.
Both of these moves could come back to haunt the club. Particularly as their 2021 season teeters on the brink of collapse. It will be hard to see either of these moves as anything but catastrophic unless something changes soon.
AAA: Syracuse Mets
The Big Story: Do the Mets have plans for Franklyn Kilome
With the Major League Ballclub struggling badly and the potential for the Mets to begin considering their future, one wonders if the team has any plans to give Kilome another major league look. The timeline for this decision is limited, as the Mets should be out of options for the pitcher and will lose him if they don’t find a role for him. While Kilome has repeatedly struggled in his major league outings, it would behoove the Mets to give him this final shot, especially if the games cease to matter.
Other News:
- Khalil Lee, CF: Slumping will happen but the Mets best remaining outfield prospect has had a rough go lately.
- David Thompson, 1B: Thompson’s prospect ship seems sailed but he was enjoying a resurgent year before his injury. His rehab is now underway.
- Wagner Lagrange, RF: Promoted to AAA but injured almost immediately.
- Franklyn Kilome, RHP: It appears the Mets have moved on from Kilome as a starter.
- Josh Walker, LHP: After a rough AAA debut, Walker has two solid starts under his belt.
AA: Binghamton Rumble Ponies
The Big Story: How excited should Mark Vientos make us
Looking for positive Met storylines from 2021, there isn’t a much rosier tale than that of Mark Vientos. The Mets third base prospect has a .951 on the season and is hitting with tremendous power. He’s even tightened things up since May with regard to strikeouts. The question that the Mets need to ask is where they see Vientos fitting if and when he reaches the majors.
Vientos looks to have a solid athletic frame and would be a candidate to shift into a corner outfield position. The interesting thing will be to see whom the Mets prefer between Vientos and Baty at third. Either way, both players should have solid arms if they manage the difficult chance of shifting from infield to outfield.
Other News:
- Brett Baty, 3B: Getting hot again and riding an eight game hit streak.
- Mark Vientos, 3B: Out of games since August 3rd.
- Carlos Cortes, 2B/LF: Resurgent after a less impressive month of July.
- Jake Mangum, OF: The power begins to evaporate as the season goes on. I think scouts got a little ahead of themselves in gushing about his early success.
- Hayden Senger, C: He continues to play well in AA but he’s striking out too frequently.
- Tony Dibrell, RHP:
- Eric Orze, RHP: Eric Orze has had a quiet season of success between Brooklyn and Binghamton and should factor into future bullpen plans.
- Tommy Wilson, RHP: One of the bright stories from 2019 returns to look sharp late in the 2021 season
- Jose Butto, RHP: One heck of a start in Binghamton on 8/8.
A+: Brooklyn Cyclones
The Big Story: Francisco Alvarez is a very good prospect
There is so much to a player like Alvarez that it’s tough to focus on one element of a prospect’s game and decide that one element makes him top prospect. He obviously has an advanced hitting tool with plenty of power. Alvarez is a shorter compact player and he has the ability to drive the ball well. While his batting average is sitting at .232, his OPS of .838 makes it much more palatable.
Unlike his teammate, Ronny Mauricio, Alvarez does know how to take a walk and doesn’t strikeout at nearly the same rate. This is part of the reason that he and Baty have streaked ahead of Mauricio in many prospect rankings.
The last part of his game worth noting is his defense. Because he plays solid defense behind the plate, some have bandied about a comparison to Yadier Molina but defensive skills like those are not a common thing. Instead you should think of him as a competent defensive player who will get the job done behind the plate and may keep some hitters at bay with a solid arm.
Other News:
- Ronny Mauricio, SS: Mauricio needs to work on patience as he develops farther.
- Francisco Alvarez, C: Hits the harder parts of a cycle on 8/7.
- Antoine Duplantis, CF: Enjoys a strong July which pushes his OPS into relevance.
- Jaylen Palmer, SS/CF/DH: Not much success since his promotion but it’s still early.
- T. Ginn, RHP: Experiencing some growing pains since his promotion.
- Justin Lasko, RHP: Lasko still a bit too wild but gets success with his slightly too wild stuff.
A: St. Lucie Mets
The Big Story: Not much talent left in Low A
With Alvarez advanced, Pete Crow-Armstrong traded and most of the more talented pitching shipped onto Brooklyn and beyond the St. Lucie squad doesn’t look like they have much in the way of premier talent. Hopefully the Mets will bring up some of their international talent to give some punch to this squad.
Other News:
- Alex Ramirez, OF: Two early home runs for the month of August are a good sign.
- Jose Peroza, 3B: One of the top performers for the team Peroza is a bit old for St. Lucie.
- Matt Dyer, C/1B/3B/RF: It’s good to see such defensive versatility in a player like this.
Beating a dead horse here, but the Mets don’t “lose” with Rocker… they get another first rounder next year. The farm system is only “weaker” in the interim
0 1st rounders in 2021 + 2 1st rounders in 2022 = 1 1st rounder in 2021 + 1 1st rounder in 2022
That depends on Rocker’s ability to come back from whatever scared the Mets and who the Mets get with the pick next year. Way back when they passed on Lucas Giolito for the combined reasons of salary demand and injury concerns. Giolito had TJ surgery but bounced back and the last year three years he has a combined 9.7 fWAR, despite last year being 60 games and this year not being over. Who did the Mets pick instead? Gavin Cecchini
Sure they could lose out on picking the “wrong” player but in terms of draft capital they don’t really lose as at the end of next year they end up with same amount of 1st round picks, but the way people are phrasing it makes it seem like they lost a draft pick for nothing.
I guess this is theory versus reality.
Rocker was the consensus #1 pick that the Mets had fall to them at #10 because he was pitching hurt. The question is if it makes sense to wait a year longer for Rocker after he undergoes TJ surgery. The surgery is not guaranteed but it has a very high success rate.
My opinion is that a healthy Rocker – even if you have to wait 2 years >> the #11 pick next year.
I totally get those who think that Rocker >> #11 pick next year, but on the flip side that #11 next year is still going to be someone who is going to slot in the top 5 and prospect valuations are an art not a science so nothing is ever guaranteed and there’s a ton of unpredictability so it’s just hard to watch when people characterize this situation as an egregious or catastrophic loss when the situation isn’t that extreme
Only time will tell whether Rocker > #11 pick next year. From the emotional side of Met fandom it stunk that Rocker dropped into the Mets’ lap and then vanished. From the business/baseball side, this was intriguing for several reasons – the Boras factor, the interpretation of medical data, the new owner clearly influencing, and the exposure that these top picks are screwed from a baseball sense if they don’t sign…having few alternatives. Outside of sheer disappointment it is really impossible to evaluation at this stage.
Given the Mets history, would anyone on here be willing to bet that Rocker doesn’t become a star? I was so excited to land him and am now irrationally angry the way this was handled. I’m tired of the spin where nothing is ever the fault of the Mets front office. “We didn’t get a better starting pitcher because Scherzer wouldn’t play in NY and the asking price for Berrios was too high.” I call B.S. 1) There were at least a half dozen better options than Rich Hill and that bum we got from the Cubs – Gibson, Gray, Davies, Kelly, Pineda, et al. 2) The story about what Minnesota was asking in return from the Mets keeps getting exaggerated more by the day. By next week it will be, “they insisted on deGrom, Alonso and Steve Cohen’s summer house in the Hamptons.” I don’t believe it for a second.
3 things the Mets should have done in July but didn’t:
1) Signed Kumar Rocker
2) Made the bigger trade with Chicago for Bryant and Davies
3) Brought Big Sexy back. Colon couldn’t have been any worse than Jarod Eickhoff and he would have gotten the fans excited and possibly sparked the team.
You had me until you mentioned Colon. The guy hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2018. His last two seasons in the majors he was 14-26 with a 6.13 ERA. You think he’s somehow gotten better without pitching at the highest level at age 48?!?!?!?
The idea that Colon could help an MLB team in 2021 is daffy.