The Mets have welcomed a number of new faces to their clubhouse: Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson (from the Braves), Tyler Clippard (from the Athletics) and Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers. Few will argue that these deals have helped the franchise in its bid to reach the post season, but what exactly did the Mets give up to get here?
John Gant – I ranked Gant higher than most people would have. He is, more or less, the “typical pitching prospect”. He has a fastball in the low-mid 90s and mixes it with two other pitches. The thing to remember is that Gant began the year in Savannah and earned two promotions. He projects as a back of the rotation starter but it’s fairly likely that he’ll reach that projection.
Robert Whalen – The second player traded to Atlanta might be the better talent. Whalen’s value has taken a hit the past two years thanks to injuries and not seeming to master Advanced A-ball. He’s already taken a turn in the AFL which is a fairly high talent pool but at this point he didn’t factor into Met plans. A change of scenery might be the best thing for him.
Casey Meisner – Meisner didn’t have “Ace Pitcher” stuff, but he did have potential to be a #3 pitcher in the majors and was a major chip within the Mets organization. It wasn’t surprising to see him traded (not that anyone wanted that to happen) but it was surprising to see him traded for Clippard. That was, until Jenrry Mejia‘s suspension was announced. I expect to see Meisner reach the majors as a starter but with the “Core Five” intact it was hard to see a spot in the rotation for him.
Michael Fulmer – Fulmer was likely the jewel of the traded Met prospects. He has the highest ceiling, as a #2 pitcher, and he is close to the majors, pitching in AA. He’d be on more people’s radar if it weren’t for injuries in the past seasons but 2015 has reopened some eyes. It won’t be surprising to see Fulmer competing for a role in the Tigers’ rotation this coming Spring.
Luis Cessa – The Mets had a crop of international pitchers going into the year. Hansel Robles has transitioned to relief, Gabriel Ynoa has looked ho-hum, Rainy Lara is all but forgotten and Luis Cessa has been the star. Cessa was great in Binghamton but struggled in his few starts at the AAA level. I’m not sure how he will shake out for the Tigers and if he will wind up in the rotation or the bullpen but he certainly was more than a filler piece.
What does this leave the Mets?
Not a lot of pitching, that’s for sure. Here is a primer on the starting pitching that remains in the Mets’ system:
Rafael Montero – An MLB ready pitcher who is returning from an injury. Expect to see him used to give Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom some rest. Also expect that he will explore a possible move to the bullpen.
Ynoa – His prospect stock has fallen much in the past year. His ERA is still all right but he doesn’t have much in the way of peripherals to excite anyone.
Robert Gsellman – While he doesn’t have a high K/9 that would indicate a bright future, he does keep the opponent batting averages low and minimize walks. Gsellman profiles as a back of the rotation innings eater.
Martires Arias – Arias will factor as one of the better starting pitchers left to the Mets. The 6’7 righty has pitched well for Savanah all year and even made a successful spot start for Port St. Lucie.
Tyler Badamo – Badamo’s WHIP is under 1.00 and batters are hitting under .200 against him but he’s only struck out 39 batters over his 49.2 innings and has shown control issues of late.
Matt Blackham – Blackham is hurt currently, but before the injury he was rolling through the NYPL with 42 Ks in 30.2 IP.
Harol Gonzalez – Pitching down in Kingsport, Gonzalez has shown glimpses of talent and will remain a player to watch in the future.
Nabil Crismatt – Not a name you are used to seeing in baseball. Crismatt is actually looking like a solid all-around pitcher with an intriguing future.
Merandy Gonzalez – This young pitcher advanced from the GCL, where he was dominant, to the APP where he’s definitely needing to adjust. At only 19 years of age he has plenty of time to iron things out.
Nicolas Debora – A DSL pitcher with some excellent control. Expect him to appear in one of the Rookie level minor league teams to start 2016.
AAA:
Dilson Herrera continues to rake in AAA – It is looking like Daniel Murphy will be moving on (or playing another position) and that the Mets will make their beds with Herrera in 2016.
Darrell Ceciliani may play his way back to Queens – He’s hot with the bat and capable of playing all three outfield positions. He’s better suited to coming off the bench than Michael Conforto as well.
Matt Reynolds is back on the field – Ruben Tejada and Wilmer Flores have been put on notice.
AA:
Gavin Cecchini is ready to try his luck in Vegas – He’s hitting .400 in his last 10 games and deserves to get a shot vs. AAA pitching.
A+:
Dominic Smith is hitting over .300 again – His promotion to AA this season has been earned. It could come any day.
A:
Wuilmer Becerra does it all – With all the talk of Becerra’s bat and power we forgot to mention that he’s stolen 11 bases this season. Not bad.
R1:
Dash Willingham adds three dashes of power – That’s three home runs in his last ten games.
What about Molina and Bowman?
Molina hasn’t really done anything this year, but could be mentioned in a similar breath to Ynoa.
Bowman doesn’t project, in my mind, as more than a AAAA pitcher.
Not to compromise anybody’s buzz, but the trade for Cespedes was one trade too many. Fulmer and Cessa was too high a price to pay for a two month rental.
I would have brought Fulmer up to Flushing and worked him into low-stress relief situations — Clippard was a good pickup, but I expect the Mets to need bullpen help before they see the finish line — and kept Conforto in his place. Conforto will hit given the chance to settle in; even Willie Mays famously was 1 for his first 26 At Bats.
I believe that would have been as good a solution for 2015 as adding Cespedes; and obviously much better for 2016 and after.
Now, I have to hope that Marcos Molina’s isn’t permanently damaged, and hope the same thing for Montero. There’s not much else anywhere near ready for the major league team.
The Mets still have: Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jon Neise, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler on board for 2016 and have Montero to back them all up.
I was happier trading Cessa and Fulmer for a rental than trading Wheeler for a year and two months of Carlos Gomez.
Good piece, but you’re forgetting two pitchers who could turn out to be starters long-term: Logan Verrett and Sean Gilmartin. Gilmartin (who’s not listed in your survey since he isn’t exactly a “prospect”) will be kept in the pen–barring a meltdown–until he clears Rule V status and can be sent to AAA to stretch out as a starter.
Gilmartin won’t unseat any of the rotation guys and isn’t a “prospect” but he is a useful guy.
Verrett I consider a #6 pitcher at present.
The minor league pitching depth is still deep after trading five pitchers. It was an added bonus that they were able to restructure the major league roster without giving up a high prospect position player. The first opening in the starting rotation isn’t until 2019 and as you stated the Mets are backed up with Niese, Montero and Verritt if Wheeler and Matz join the 2016 rotation. There are many interesting relievers in the minors that may make it to the majors. The Mets use of the minor league surplus was costly in 2015 but it was the right decision. Next year maybe some of the minor league position players will step in and there will be less holes to fill .
David,
How about Alvarez, Goeddel and Morris?
All of these are relievers at this point.
Nothing wrong with that, but with losing all of these starters the focus wasn’t on them.
Whatever happened to Hefner? He never seemed destined to be an ace, but he exceeded expectations before he went down? Do you know his status and can you share your opinion of his value?
He attempted a comeback in 2014 but only through 14.0 innings of fairly awful pitching. He does not seem to still be on a roster.
I believe he had second TJ surgery.
Gilmartin is a Rule 5 pick this year, he’ll stay in the pen this year. Next year, I believe he’ll be a starter in LV with Verrett as fill-in starters. Also left out is Josh Smoker (free-agent signee-former 2007 first round draftee by Wash. Nats) racing through the minors. On another note, the Mets had to clear space this winter for new additions to the 40 man roster to avoid losing good prospects in the Rule 5 draft. Offer Cespedes a 6 or 7 yr contract with a 3rd yr op-out , they seem to be the new type of contract.