Two weeks ago we talked about Peter Alonso and how he turned a disappointing season around shaking off an injury and proving that his successful 2016 campaign in Brooklyn was not a fluke. His line for the season is now .291/.367/.534 and he continues to show prodigious power. Additionally, you might notice that his walk rate has improved and his strikeouts have declined. All this points to one thing, Alonso is our next “Top Prospect”.
Amed Rosario is in the majors and will, we hope, eventually prove to be the star we saw the potential for in the minors. It may take him a while to adjust to major league pitching but we are seeing that he is, defensively, a special player. With him set to graduate away from the Prospect Rankings, a question of who might replace his spot becomes relevant.
The obvious choice is Dominic Smith, who is likely to finish the season in the majors, who sat behind Rosario all season. Smith has had a great season and deserves to move up but the underlying question of his power and effectiveness in the majors deserves weight. He’s also not likely to remain in the minors for very much longer.
MLB.com’s current Top 25 rankings list 9 players ahead of Alonso in their mid-year list. Excluding Rosario and Smith there is little to back up these rankings:
David Peterson, LHP – Having pitched 1 inning for Brooklyn, Peterson has not showed us enough to warrant being a #1 prospect.
Justin Dunn, RHP – Would be absurd to rank Dunn ahead of Alonso given the fact that one has excelled in 2017 and one has looked abysmal.
Andres Gimenez, SS – While there is a lot to be optimistic about Gimenez, especially given his age, I would hesitate to rank him above Alonso based on age and defensive flexibility, ignoring Alonso’s offensive production.
Thomas Szapucki, LHP – While we all expect big things of Thomas, his injury means he will be out for most of (probably all of) 2018. You cannot rank an injured player as your best prospect.
Desmond Lindsay, OF – Combining the poor performance of Dunn with the injury of Szapucki, Lindsay will be lucky to hold onto the Top 10.
Marcos Molina, RHP – While Molina is pitching in AA, he’s been out pitched by Conlon, Oswalt and Flexen in 2017.
Gavin Cecchini, SS/2B – Cecchini has failed to impress in AAA and has missed a golden chance to play significant time in the majors because of it.
In short, the case for Alonso seems pretty clear.
AA: Binghamton Rumble Ponies
Corey Oswalt shines after Flexen’s promotion – In his last two starts Oswalt has out performed his AA compatriots easily.
A+: Port St. Lucie Mets
Patrick Mazeika shows his patience – His walks threaten to surpass his strikeouts any day.
R1: Kingsport Mets
Rigoberto Terrazas is the real deal – Another week of great hitting suggests Terrazas may begin 2018 in Columbia.
R2: Gulf Coast Mets
Jaison Vilera has potential – He has pitched 6 or more innings in his last 5 starts.
DSL Mets, Notable Names:
Sebastian Espino, SS – Young shortstop showing some power and making consistant contact.
Jhoander Saez, OF – Speedy outfielder who need to cut down his strikeouts.
Yoel Romero, 2B – Has speed and some power also shows reasonably good patience.
Luis Santana, 2B – Shows considerable power despite lack of size.
Shervyen Newton, SS – Too big to stick at short but is hitting well and shows an advanced eye at the plate.
Miguel Ramirez, RHP – Shows immaculate control.
Malky Mena, RHP – Keeps hitters off base.
Boris Sanchez, LHP – Pitching deep into games.
To your DSL list, I’d like to put an oar in the water for Wilfredo Astudillo, 17 year old catcher from Venezuela. In 39G, he has more walks (14) than K’s (11)–an oddity right there–a .312 BA on a ,373 OBP (albeit all 10 XBH’s are 2B’s) and thrown out 43% (26/61) of attempted SB’s. Did I say he just turned 17 in March?
As I like to point out,Gavin Cecchini drafted 6 picks ahead of Corey Seager in the same draft year…
Now you’ve made a grown man cry.
Are you happy?
Time to erase my memory again.
These things are not entirely fair, because the draft is so difficult. But the Cecchini pick was instantly bizarre, with scouts immediately saying he was likely a utility player without any top skill.
Nimmo was also similar in that sense. The collective . . . what?
My take is that as you recall SA arrived with a bee in his bonnet. He brought in Hudgens and they really, really emphasized plate discipline, hunting strikes, working deep counts, and so on. We hear about it much less today, but in those first two years it was a constant drum beat. Both Nimmo and Cecchini were notable in their “advanced” plate discipline, as if the Mets organization was banking on it becoming the new 6th skill.
I always feel that Sonny Gray was one that got away.
Thanks for these, David. You do a great job.
Things aren’t looking too good. Remember when we had a top ten farm system? It seems like a bottom ten now.
Yes it does. Not a good job.
Best case, I see Alonso having a Kevin Millar type career. Millar, of course was another right handed first baseman who got a late start, but wound up providing some thunder for a couple of very good teams.
Millar was someone I followed during his path through the minors, courtesy of Baseball America. One season he hit 30-odd home runs in the Marlins’ AA level; but he was 25, of little defensive value, and all the love went to Mark Kotsay that year. Kotsay was one of those “no one skill stands out” fellows, who did go on to a good enough career. Good enough, but not good enough to entirely overshadow was Millar accomplished.
Glad to have Alonso in the system, mainly because I just do not see a long and successful career for Dominic Smith. Too much weight, at too young an age.