This is the seventh entry in our prospect series, where we’re counting down the top 50 prospects for the Mets. Four people were involved in this project and what you see is a group consensus, not the results of one person. You can view 50-47, 46-43, 42-39, 38-35, 34-31, and 30-27 if you have not already seen them. Here are the next four:
26. Nabil Crismatt – The 20-year-old right-hander from Colombia is a name probably unfamiliar to Mets fans, but that may change shortly. He started his career at age 17 in the Dominican Summer League in 2012 and spent two seasons there before moving to the Gulf Coast League in 2014. He’d been purely a reliever until 2015 when he started eight of the 12 games in which he appeared. During his career he’s done nothing but strike people out. His strikeout rate was above 10 in 2013 and 2014 before dropping to 9.1 during 2015 as a starter. As you might expect, it’s not very easy finding information about a somewhat obscure prospect, even one with the great results Crismatt has had. Somewhat dated reporting suggests he compliments his fastball with a curve and a sinker. In addition to his great strikeout rate in 2015, he lowered his walk rate to 1.7 and had a WHIP of just 1.032. Keep an eye on this one.
25. Max Wotell – The Mets went against expectation a bit and drafted a prep pitcher, Wotell, in the third round of the 2015 draft. At the time of the draft, the southpaw sat at 89-91 while topping out at around 93 MPH. That’s already above average velocity from a left-hander, but the youngster still has room to fill out. His delivery is reportedly a bit messy, and his curve is not quite average at this point, but Wotell is a player that you can dream on for the future. If things don’t quite work out he may end up a reliever, but if everything breaks right he could flirt with top-of-the-rotation potential. On a side note, his windup is pretty interesting. He starts with his left foot set on the left side (pitching side) of the rubber, then he moves it back and pivots from the opposite side of the rubber. He pitched 10.2 innings of relief in 2015 and put up an incredible K rate of 13.5. Of course, he also walked nine batters. This is one to watch closely moving forward.
24. Dario Alvarez – There’s nothing particularly spectacular about Alvarez to make Mets fans excited beyond the fact that he’s a left-handed reliever that is probably just about ready to join the major league bullpen. That may not seem like much, but there’s definitely value in that. His fastball/slider combination has aided him in putting up some very good strikeout numbers over most of his minor league career, though he has had his trouble with walks. With the Mets always seemingly short on left-handed relievers and always in the market for one, Alvarez will probably get a good shot at making the roster out of Spring Training in 2016. He has the opportunity, and the solid-if-unspectacular stuff, to carve out a career as an effective reliever if he can translate some of those strikeouts to the majors.
23. Dash Winningham – One of the best names to ever grace a baseball roster, Winningham had been tied to the Mets for quite a while before they eventually selected him in the eighth round of the 2014 draft. He’s strictly a first base prospect, drafted out of high school at that, but one with plus raw power. There have been reports that his feel for contact is better than expected, so he’s not just simply raw power and nothing else. Let’s not downplay that power, though, as he hit five homers in 2014 in the Gulf Coast League and 12 in 2015 in Kingsport. He hit .260 with an OBP of .310 in 2015 as well. He is certainly a bat-only prospect at this point, but one with potentially elite power and enough contact to not make him all or nothing at the plate. He’s very much worth your attention in 2016.
Note: Jack Leathersich was originally slotted at number 23 before, unfortunately, being claimed off of waivers by the Cubs in November.
Leathersich was released by the Cubs the other day.
Yeah, weird situation. Maybe they didn’t like what they saw with the elbow once they got their hands on him? Or maybe they had an agreement in place to re-sign him to a minor league contract. Guess we’ll see sometime soon.
Guys get claimed and released subsequently all the time. Remember Gonzalez German? He bounced around 5 different clubs last year over the winter.
True enough.
I’m not big on Alvarez but the other three in this group are all interesting. I’m probably higher on Wotell than most and I believe his velocity is consistently better than what Rob portrayed here. Hopefully we’ll get better readings this year, especially if he gets a full-season assignment. Crismatt is undervalued by a lot of people — one of Mack’s writers didn’t have him in his top 35 — and I expect a lot of buzz around him this year.
Winningham hit eight of his 12 homers on the road this year and he had an .888 OPS in road parks. He destroyed RHP and only a .445 OPS versus lefties held his overall numbers down. He seems to be a boom or bust profile but it’s good to see a power guy in the system.
We always hear scouts say that power develops later. Dash has huge power now and was hitting much higher for most of the SS before faltering late. To me he is a run producer and one they should challenge at Columbia this season. HIs moving up helps create trade chips at levels above him.