Mets360 Top 50 Prospects: Players 32-30

Welcome to the seventh edition in our continuing tale of the Mets top 50 prospects. In case you missed any of our other segments, check them out at: 50-48, 47-45, 44-42, 41-39, and 38-36 and 35-33. Next up is:

32 – Logan Verrett

The 24 year old Verrett was taken in the third round of the 2011 MLB draft, but did not make his first minor league appearance until 2012 in Savannah. Since then, Verrett has moved rapidly through the system, appearing in St. Lucie in 2012, Binghamton in 2013 and Las Vegas in 2014. Drafted as a 21 year old, Verrett’s assent through the minor leagues at such a rapid rate was due to his college poise on the mound. Verrett was terrific in 2012, but when placed against more difficult competition in 2013, he struggled with the home run ball, allowing 21 in 146 innings. Outside of that number, Verrett’s peripherals were solid and he continued to show an intriguing bulldog mentality on the mound.

One could argue that his lack of dominance in Double-A didn’t warrant a promotion, but the Mets continued to want to push the former collegian, and in this case it appeared to work. Despite moving to a notorious home run park in a terrible league for pitchers in the PCL, Verrett allowed four fewer home runs in 16 more innings. Although 17 home runs is still a high number to allow, it showed growth and Verrett’s continued understanding of how to pitch. All of that was with a vastly increased WHIP, which could be argued as a negative, but might also indicate again that Verrett was learning to keep the ball in the park and rely on his fielders to get him outs.

In the end, it’s more about Verrett’s mentality on the mound, his ability to throw for strikes and his four pitcher repertoire that keeps him an interesting prospect. Verrett doesn’t have the high upside of many of the Mets pitching prospects in the system, but he is consistent, durable and knows how to pitch. His fastball only sits in the high eighties, but he has an excellent slider and a MLB average changeup. He also can throw his curveball for strikes and often works backwards, which can throw off hitters who are so accustomed to pitchers leading off with fastballs instead of off speed pitches. Although his strike out rates were way down in 2014, Verrett stilled showed the pin point control and toughness on the mound that will eventually lead him to the major leagues. What that career will look and for whom he will play for is still a mystery, as he most likely doesn’t really fit long term as a Met. Verrett was left off of the 40 man roster in 2014, making him eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. It’s likely that he could be selected due to his major league readiness and his pitchability, but let’s hope not as he is a nice insurance policy, at least, if some of the other pitchers get hurt and could have a legitimate ability to aid the team as either a spot starter or long man in the future.

31 – Hansel Robles

Anytime a team protects a player on the 40 man roster twice that draws attention, especially a young pitcher who has no chance at making the big league roster to start 2015. The slight Robles (5’11” and 185 lbs) was signed as an international free agent in 2008 and debuted in 2009. In the foreign leagues and the Appalachian League, Robles vacillated from the starting rotation to the bullpen and posted solid numbers. He jumped onto the prospect map after joining Brooklyn in 2012 and dominating as a starting pitcher, which lead to his placement on the 40 man roster after the 2012 season and a promotion to a full season league.

Unfortunately, when Robles met more advanced hitters in St. Lucie, he didn’t fare well as a starter, which kind of makes sense.  Although Robles boasts three solid pitches, as a starter he was forced to use some of his average secondary pitches more than his plus fastball. His fastball also sat in the low 90’s, usually topping out at 94, making it a much more hittable pitch. All of this lead to Robles being removed from the 40 man roster prior to the 2014 season. Despite this, he was promoted to Binghamton, where he still struggled as a starter, posting a 4.86 ERA over 18 starts in Double-A.

With the stretch run to the playoffs coming, Robles was switched to the bullpen in Binghamton and was dominant. In 12 appearances over 20 innings pitched, Robles threw to a 1.80 ERA and struck out 10.8 batters per nine innings while walking less than one over a nine inning span. Robles fastball was also seen to top out at 96 and sit more in the mid-90’s, not only making it a better pitch, but also helping his solid slider and changeup due to the velocity difference.

With a promotion to Las Vegas as a bullpen arm in the cards, Robles was added again to the 40 man roster, this time as another potential plus late innings arm in the lines of Jenrry Mejia and Jeurys Familia, starters that were eventually converted to relievers. If he can continue to harness his plus fastball and throw strikes, it’s a possibility that Robles sees some time in the big leagues in 2015 as another power arm out of the Mets pen.

30 – L.J. Mazzilli

Drafted in the 4^th round by the Mets in 2013, the second Mazzilli to utilize his skills in the Mets farm system has moved fairly rapidly through the system. Many thought that when the Mets picked Mazzilli, it was more about his fahter Lee Mazzilli, the former Met, than it was about L.J.’s prowess. This wasn’t just about remembering a past Mets favorite, but was also about the fact that Mazzilli was drafted after his senior year in college at the University of Connecticut.

Since then, Mazzilli has shown himself to be a solid middle infielder prospect. In 2013, Mazzilli posted a 710 OPS while playing every day at second base for Brooklyn. He showed some of what the scouts said about him: solid approach at the plate, decent power for a middle infielder and serviceable at second base. Nothing there was really exciting, but his name continued to be known in Mets prospects circles for his lineage. In 2014, that changed. Mazzilli performed extremely well in Savannah and St. Lucie, hitting over .300 with an 800 plus OPS and a 140 ISO. Over 131 games, split almost evenly at the two levels, Mazzilli had 44 extra base hits, including seven home runs in the notoriously power sucking Savannah. His defense remained serviceable and a look at shortstop showed that its second base or bust for Mazzilli, but the bat plays very well at that position. When you throw in that he stole 14 bases and walked at an 8% rate with normal strike out totals, the 23 year old Mazzilli falls very nicely into place behind Dilson Herrera as the second best second baseman in the system. How the Mets view Mazzilli is evident in his late season promotion to Las Vegas in 2014, to help supplement the team for its playoff run.

In the Arizona Fall League, Mazzilli continued his strong play, posting a 902 OPS and a 163 ISO, while getting solid grades from scouts for his defense. With a spot in Binghamton all but assured, Mazzilli has the chance to be another quality middle infield prospect and potentially move up this list. However, if his prowess proves to be just one more advanced college player who beat up on younger competition, the Double-A baseball world might impede his progress. Basically, 2015 is going to show whether Mazzilli has a future as a major league second baseman or is just another Quadruple-A organizational ball player.