Before the season I ranked the Top 25 players in the Met farm system and now that the minor league year is just about over it is time to provide grades for those players based on how they performed.
- Andres Gimenez, SS: B+
- Gimenez not only hit well enough to earn himself a mid-year promotion to Binghamton but he managed to show that his legs could become a major asset to the team in the future (38 SB). It is hard for a top prospect to earn an A or A+ in the ranking scale because their expectations start so high, but Gimenez definitely solidified his mark in being the Met top prospect with a great year.
- Peter Alonso, 1B: B
- Alonso destroyed the competition in Binghamton and had a successful showing in his first time with Las Vegas (.932 OPS) but he also showed to be a streaky hitter who could, at times, strike out too much. He’s still made waves in the farm system and supplanted Dominic Smith in the minds of fans as the future first baseman for the big league club.
- Thomas Szapucki, LHP: N/A
- David Peterson, LHP: B-
- If you look at Peterson’s numbers in Columbia alone you’d think this rating too low but his struggles after promotion are a reason for concern that every fan should take note of. He did just have an exclamation point of a start in which he dazzled for 5.0 IP with 2 hits, no walks and 9 strikeouts but it’s still hard to give him a higher letter mark on his year.
- Chris Flexen, RHP: D
- Flexen, like others, was bounced between the majors and minors a bit but his numbers in the majors and minors were not exactly confidence inspiring. To succeed in the future, he will need to do major work to lower his WHIP to a realm below 1.50 or he has no future in the majors.
- Mark Vientos, 3B: B+
- Given that the Mets had Vientos burried in the Applichian League instead of thrust into the South Atlantic, the grade of B+ might be generous. Vientos has an unquestionably good year for Kingsport, where he got markedly better as each month went by, but the Mets were cautious and a B+ was probably the highest grade he could achieve without starting the year with a full season team.
- Marcos Molina, RHP: F
- Nothing nice to say, I feel I shouldn’t say anything at all… but that isn’t what blogs are about. To sum up his terrible year, he’s been released by the Mets.
- P.J. Conlon, LHP: C-
- If you stare at that ERA there isn’t much to be pleased with. A 6.65 ERA is flat-out bad. If you look past the ERA to the strikeouts and WHIP you see that Conlon’s year was not so bad, if you adjust for the hitter friendly confines of the PCL. Afterall, pitchers who don’t have “Power” stuff rarely flourish there.
- Jordan Humphreys, RHP: N/A
- Desmond Lindsay, OF: F
- The clock is basically up on Lindsay producing anything on the promise that the Mets drafted him for. The season, like almost all he’s shown in the minors, is one of injury and disappointment for a player who the Mets once hoped would have a future in the outfield. He’s unlikely to be in the Top 25 prospects for 2019 and may not rank amongst the Top 50.
- Justin Dunn, RHP: A
- On the opposite side of Lindsay’s coin is Dunn, who made up for a disappointing 2017 with a very very good 2018. His walks remains a concern but he’s striking people out and getting the job done at the AA level. 2019 will see him debut for the Syracuse AAA squad and I’m looking forward to seeing what he (and newcomer Franklyn Kilome) can do there.
- Patrick Mazeika, C: D
- At this point Mazeika is a taunt I hear from Brian Joura when I do my weekly recaps. The catching prospect was only ever going to get as far as his bat carred him and his bat was almost silent in 2018. I’m still hoping for a rebound in 2019 but it doesn’t look good.
- Tomas Nido, C: D-
- Rushed into the majors because of injuries to Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki, Nido proved unready for the challenge of being a major league catcher. Nido wasn’t even able to cut it at the AAA level in 2018 which may be a sign that is future prospects are very limited.
- Corey Oswalt, RHP: B
- Spending far more of his 2018 in the majors than anyone was expecting, Oswalt was pretty excellent. Again, if you look at that ERA you’ll not be pleased but a pitchers skill is better viewed in their WHIP and strikeout numbers. I think that a few teams are keeping an eye on Oswalt and waiting for the Mets to shed him in the roster crunch that sees the back of the rotation pitchers fall to the open market.
- David Thompson, 3B: D
- Hitters are supposed to do well in the PCL but nobody seems to have sent that memo to our pal Thompson. He’s being spared a lower grade because his injury greatly shortened his season.
- Jhoan Urena, OF: C
- Transitioning out of third base and thrown to the highest league he’d seen I expected Urena to falter badly. Instead he continued to hit fairly well and build on his rebound season of 2017. He’s still a longshot to become an impact player at the majors but the switch hitter is certainly capable of surprising us.
- Jacob Rhame, RHP: C-
- If you choose to ignore how bad Rhame was in the majors you can almost see how good he was in the minors. With solid numbers at ERA, WHIP and K/9 Rhame did well in AAA and was completely overmatched at the major league level. There is reason to hope that next year he’s able to adjust and show his worth in the bigs.
- Wagner Lagrange, OF: B
- One of the players who over-performed in the 2017 APP for the Mets Lagrange was a headline talent for Brooklyn where he proved capable of getting on base and running, if only a little. It would have been good to see some power but Brooklyn often saps the power numbers from hitters.
- Ronny Mauricio, SS: A-
- Admittedly, I ranked Mauricio too low in my rankings but he’s proven that to me in spades. One of the best hitters from the GCL Mets, Mauricio earned a promotion to the APP and looks poised to headline the offense in Brooklyn for 2019. There is a small chance the Mets let him play in Columbia but I think the Mets are playing themselves much more cautiously. lately.
- Nabil Crismatt, RHP: C
- He pitched well in Binghamton and badly in Las Vegas and pretty much exactly as expected overall. It will be good to have him in Syracuse instead of Las Vegas in 2019 to accurately gauge if he can succeed in the majors.
- Rigoberto Terrazas, OF: D
- One of the best hitters from that 2017 Kingsport team, Terrazas fell on his face in 2018 and will hope to find a rebound in 2019 for any sort of relevance moving forward.
- Hansel Moreno, SS: B-
- An exciting prospect for the Mets who has tremendous physical potential which started to show for the Fireflies. He’s got a lot to learn and quite a bit of maturing to do but he’s earned a spot in the Top 25 prospects moving forward.
- Gavin Cecchini, Util: D
- Too much of the year spend injured but it seems that Cecchini isn’t quite a prospect anymore anyway.
- Juan Uriarte, C: N/A
- Jeremy Vasquez, 1B: A
- A real diamond in the rough of the Met farm system, Vasquez was the hitting star of Columbia before earning a promotion to Port St. Lucie. While he stumbled at times after the promotion his bat was still able to be productive overall and it seems that he’ll find his way to Binghamton before too long.
Unranked:
- Jeff McNeil, 2B/3B: A+
- Injuries kept us from ranking McNeil who everybody saw as organizational filler. Now we have talk about him winning the starting second base role for 2019 and beyond. To say that McNeil surpassed the expectations set for him is to say that Babe Ruth could kinda hit.
- Stephen Villines, RHP: A
- Should we write home about a 23 year old reliever who started his year in Columbia? Probably not, but a pitcher who succeeded in Low A, Advanced A and AA in one season is likely something we should at least acknowledge.
- Jaison Vileira, RHP: A-
- A starter who missed the Top 25 because of his level more than his success, Vileira is likely going to see himself on most rankings for the Mets top players after a great year for Brooklyn.
- Tony Dibrell, RHP: B+
- Dibrell escaped our notice in 2017 where he struggled for Brooklyn, in the bullpen, but made the most of a promotion to the Fireflies rotation in 2018. He’s gotta prove himself in Port St. Lucie before we get too excited.
- Ali Sanchez, C: B
- A rare defensive catcher in the Met system I have never thought much of Sanchez whose bat never looked capable of passing muster. His 2018 season wasn’t phenomenal but it was enough for me to stop hating on the catching prospect.
- Tim Tebow, OF: B-
- The fact that he’s 31 years old and now coming off of injury is something that makes it really hard to rank Tebow as a prospect. The fact that he exceeded expectations in Binghamton makes me acknowledge that the Mets may get more than publicity from this signing.
- Joe Cavallaro, RHP: B-
- A pitcher who isn’t known for his “Power Stuff”, Cavallaro succeeded in both Columbia and Port St. Lucie. He is basically Nabil Crismatt 2.0 so don’t get overly excited.
- Anthony Kay, LHP: B-
- Back from injury and looking to prove something, Anthony Kay found his groove in Columbia and earned a promotion to Port St. Lucie. He looks like his potential is still there and that given health he could make something of himself.
- Luis Guillorme, MI: C+
- An admitted miss on my Top 25 rankings, the Mets badly mishandled his season and he wasn’t able to earn an ongoing spot of the team or develop properly in the minors.
- Walter Raquin, 2B: C+
- A prospect with potential who sat out part of the year on a drug suspension. Rasquin returned to be one of the better hitters for Brooklyn. He’ll likely see himself skipped to Port St. Lucie as the Mets basically lost a developmental year on him.
There are 4-5 kids at Kingsport who must get our attention:
Vientos, Kelenic, Luis Santana, and Shervyen Newton, and Mauricio who got a late Cameo.
http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ibp&cid=506&stn=true&sid=t506
They are all extremely young, even for the league, and the 1st four guys had nice production at that level. I’d love to see an in-place scouting report on these guys, because the stats are outstanding.
They have a very interesting 8-36 month propect window ahead. I expect we will begin hearing aboujt it from the Mets and the Prospect Guys.
I didn’t include players who joined the team this year or hadn’t been on my radar because I didn’t have expectations for them to exceed or disappoint. They will feature heavily in other posts now that the minor league seasons are spent.
The Mets have several kids who are interesting because they’re young and compelling, but they also have some guys who are maybe a little less “exciting”…. but they deserve consideration beyond being dismissed as Organizational Filler.
Toffey, Chechinni, McNeill, Nimmo, and Guillorme—a mixed group—guys who may have lost “prospect buzz” at some point. The stats show them with a steady attribute at A+ and about…they can Run At Bats. They walk 10% or More. With the exception of Nimmo, they also strike out “moderately”, per today’s game.
Nimmo Added Attack Power selectively, and he’s transforming himself as a weapon. Cheech was reportedly on that Path. McNeill walked that path. Toffey has accelerated his power and aggression. I’m not at all a fan of Guillorme, but He has “At Bat Control”—he can develop some ability to recegnize pitches and build some aggression into his approach.
I will not be surprised to See Chechinni, McNeill and Toffey as productive pieces over the next year or so. When you add them to some of the High Line talents, it could be that there is a Prospect flow ahead.
BTW, this is not to peddle the “Working Counts Approach” for all hitters….it is about recognizing that this is a talent and a demeanor that allows some of these players to survive and thrive, even without Searing Scoutable Skill and Talent Sets. It allows them to grow out other ability over time.
Asking other players to do this has limits…pitch recognition, game recognition, and selectivity are all add-able skills–within reason.
I’m Adding Vaquez to my “Slow Cooker”, along with Toffey. OPS over 800 in the Sal is a very nice effort. He competed in the Fla League as well. He has the ability to see good pitches.
I think there’s something ahead here.
“Callaway optimistic about Jay Bruce’s future at first base” Why?
Alonso only hitting .257 and 78 strikeouts in 66 games in Vegas conerns me.
He got off to a horrible start. But in his last 202 PA in Vegas, Alonso has a .294/.366/.667 mark. He has 33 XBH including 16 HR. No reason to worry.
That makes me feel better
I think Peter Alonso will need to do a lot in Spring Training to win the spot but I believe the Mets will be open to him starting the year in the majors if he hits the ground running.
What if Alonso is our Judge,Bellinger or Hoskins? That would change things, it would be. Like when Harvey first came up.
We can dream, right?
No problem David until Cecchini’s grade. It should be a N/A and he was actually doing pretty good in his 119 PAs before getting hurt, including a 111 RC+. I would give him another year before calling him a non-prospect as he had it his K rate in half to 12.6%, and lifted his batting average and hard hit rate.
Can someone please tell me what y’all see in Hansel Moreno that I just can’t? I don’t know if he has any discernible tool and don’t know what the hype is all about. It’s actaully Newton that deserved a mention somewhere because of his numbers, but he also doesn’t have a discernible tool in his game. But at least, he does many things pretty good.
Cecchini – Maybe he’ll be next year’s Ali Sanchez and earn redemption from me.
Moreno – He doesn’t have crazy speed or colossal power, true but he’s very athletic and managed solid offensive numbers in a difficult league for offense. I don’t know if he’s snuck into my Top 20 but he’s definitely in my top 25.
Is he more athletic than Champ Stuart or Ivan Wilson? And he is 21 in A ball with everyone being his age. I mean if he was at least hitting .310+ as a minor leaguer, then ok, but .248 with a .335 BABIP and a .305 OBP stinks, to me.
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If I can ask for just one thing from the next GM, it would be to emphasize contact. Tell the players that no one steals first and you can’t do damage if you don’t hit the ball. The reason everyone loves Alonso isn’t the homeruns, it’s the average, the OBP, it’s production! Maybe someone should tell Moreno that every year that he didn’t strike out with a rate in the high 20’s%, he hit over .300.
I generally agree with what you’re saying. He’s putting up average or middling numbers, at league-average age, and a level at which only 1 out of 6 players actually go on to become major leaguers. That, in and of itself, is not something to get excited about.
I think the wild card here is his size. Unlike a lot of skinny, quick infielders at this age/level, he already has a HR swing. And at 6’4″, 180, he could wind up adding 20, 30, even 40 pounds over time – and the HR power that goes with it – and still not be over-sized. (Todd Frazier is 6’3″, 220. Flores and Nimmo are 6’3″, 205 & 207, respectively). And while his K rate is a bit high right now, it won’t be if he’s hitting 20 or so HRs a year.
St Lucie and the FSL is a hard place to hit HRs, so we may not see it materialize for another two or three years (if ever). He might be worth keeping an eye on, but not getting excited over.
Cecchini got 30% of his ABs in the ultra-ultra-hitter friendly Albuquerque, but those Abs account for about 50% of his offensive production. Outside of that friendliest of hitters’ parks, he actually hit pretty badly. (I’ve done the math previously, too tired to do it again, but he hit something like .238 with an OPS that just flirts with .600). As for his prospect status.. well, I found it telling, and even a bit conspicuous that Cecchini was barely given any starts in spring training, and only came in to the middle of games when minor leaguers were pitching. They’re all prospects till they run out of options. He’s got one left
Syracuse is probably not in the cards for Crismatt. He’s a minor league free agent at the end of the season, and there isn’t much reason for the Mets to re-sign him unless they want another in-house journeyman to bounce around.
Urena also a free agent, and probably less likely to be re-signed.
I would not expect any bounce back from Terrazas, either. He was 21 wehn he posted his good numbers in Kingsport, and had never hit much before that. He also play poor defense just about everywhere they’ve tried him.
Nessim, nice to see you on this site. I wasn’t aware of the Cecchini production info and thanks for sharing that, but why would you think Crismatt, with his pinpoint control, couldn’t become a good MLB reliever, say better than Sewald or Petersen?
Thats not what I’m saying – he certainly could. I’m just speaking to the numbers game, and the pervasive thinking in baseball.
Minor league free agents are seldom re-signed, and the Mets have far, far too many pitchers ahead of Crismatt on the depth chart right now. There’s just no need or reason for them to bring him back.
And while I disagree with this thinking, players who reach minor league free agency are often regarded and treated as irrelevant. They’re seldom brought back by their teams. And even if they are, or are signed by another club, they are often treated as roster filler, and thrown around to plug holes in whatever level or position needs it, and not developed as prospects.
I think thats foolish and short-sighted thinking, especially for with a 23-year old. But that is how it is. At this point, if he’s going to get back onto a forward-moving track, he’s going to have to earn his way back the hard way.