2019 Mets top 50 prospects: 15-11

Wow the final group of players outside the Top 10 and you have four players who are either former, current or future DSL players. Ordinarily this would be fairly horrifying, but these youngsters might be different.  Santana and Newton are coming off of seasons in stateside baseball in which they both showed tremendous potential, Hernandez is coming off a solid debut season in the DSL and Alvarez has become the highest paid Met international signee with his $2.9 Million.

The only exception to this group of high potential players (all of whom are far from reaching the majors) is Will Toffey, who is one of only 3 third basemen in the Top 50 prospects for the Mets.  Toffey is a fairly advanced prospect who is likely to be headed for Syracuse where he will supply the Mets with some depth should Todd Frazier spend time on the DL again.

11. Adrian Hernandez, OF (DSL) – If there was to be an immediate complaint about Hernandez it would be his build. At 5’9” and 210 pounds, he has no room to fill out and is not likely to be a major base stealing threat. That being said his first season in the DSL was fairly good and that combined with his $1.5 Million signing bonus will likely see himself to the GCL or APP to start 2019.  There is still plenty of growth to hope for with a “Five Tool” prospect who might be able to hold onto a spot in center field.

    Gus: A 17 year old with all five tools. He has the potential to be a star center fielder but could just as easily be a colossal bust.  After last year’s big signing bonus, the Mets could have egg all over their faces.  His ranking shows the shallowness of the Met pipeline, overall.

Chris: Interesting to have a 5’9″, 210 pound guy trying to stick in a high-speed position like center field. Although he might have a stocky build, Hernandez is somehow is fast. Another Met grab from the international pool for big dollars, right now there is mostly a lot of hope and a big swing.

12. Francisco Alvarez, C (N/A) – The #9 international free agent from 2018, the Mets broke the bank and spent a lot of money to bring him in. Profiling as both a powerful hitter and a non liability as a defender, Alvarez draws comparisons to Wilson Ramos (one of the Met’s biggest offseason free agent targets). He seems awfully raw but his huge signing bonus will keep him ranked far higher in the rankings than Juan Uriarte who isn’t much older and has shown us far more.

MLB Pipelines Says:

‘At 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds, Alvarez is a strong prospect with a stocky build and an offense-oriented set of tools. He has a reputation for hitting well in games, which speaks to his emerging hit tool. He also shows power now and the potential for more in the future. Like most young catching prospects, Alvarez is not known for his running ability. The teenager’s bat stands out more than his glovework at the moment, but he has also shown a good arm and solid defensive actions behind the plate. He is expected to improve on his overall defensive game once he signs with a team and receives daily instruction at a club’s academy.’

Gus: A catcher with Wilson Ramos’ game and style.  Signed this passed summer to a big contract, there are expectations. Given this ranking due to positional importance.

Chris: One of the new round of international signings, he inked for near $3,000,000.00 as an offensive minded catcher. There is a lot of upper cut in his swing. It will be interesting to see how he develops behind the plate.

13. Shervyen Newton, SS (APP) – The prospect from the Netherlands has major potential as he’s wicked fast and has great power potential given his frame. The problem is that he has one of the most glaring warts I’ve seen in some time. Newton is a major strikeout risk, having struck out 84 times in 56 games.  He does draw walks but it will be hard to continue to sustain a solid batting average with the frequency of his strikeouts.

    Gus: A 6’4″ SS with a Range Factor better than Andes Gimenez.  His offensive game is already diverse enough without the additional power that is expected to come as he matures. He is a player to keep an eye on.

    Chris: Rosario, Giminez and now Newton. The Mets seem to be a shortstop factory these days and Newton is the next in line. Long and lean switch hitter who mastered Kingsport offensively and defensively. In watching video it seemed to me he may be standing a bit far from the plate (could be the video), making him prone to being abused on the outside of the plate. Will be very interesting to watch how Newton matures this season.

    14. Luis Santana, 2B (APP) – A small middle infielder who was an absolute offensive star for the Kingsport Mets.  He boasts reasonably good power for his lack of size and has great control of the strike zone.  He’s never going to be a true speedster but he seems to have enough speed to generate double digit stolen bases and solid infield ranging.  His splits indicate that he seems to hit pitchers equally well and that his hitting wasn’t particularly streaky.  He seems like an ideal #2 hitter in a lineup.

    Gus: More BB than K’s both years of pro-ball and RC+ of 165 and 150.  Defensively he has good range at 2B despite not being particularly fast.  The bad news is that he also has a 25% flyball rate and his lack of speed won’t allow him to beat out too many ground balls.

    Chris: A 5’8″ dynamo with an open stance and a lot of moving parts to his batting approach. Pounded the cover off the ball in Kingsport in a ridiculous way with a high BP and OB. I’ve found myself saying “Jose Altuve“.  There’s a long way to go but being 2 years younger than peers in APP means we should keep an eye on him as he continues to advance.

14. Will Toffey, 3B (EAS) – When the Mets traded Jeurys Familia, few people were happy with the return. If Bobby Wahl turns into a setup caliber reliever and Toffey continues his trend, maybe that will change. He profiles as a .250 hitter with solid defense and a solid eye.  His power is the biggest variable as he’ll need to hit for more power than he currently does to make the leap from backup corner infielder to starting third baseman.  Still, an .827 OPS in AA on his first time through is pretty impressive.

    Gus: A solid defensive third baseman with good bat control but little power, Toffey has tried to adjust his swing for more power.

    Chris: So far Toffey’s name hasn’t been uttered this off season as part of the future, but that’s a mistake in my eyes. A near 40% OB in 41 games at Binghamton put him in with a > .800 OPS. Add the defensive skills and he has a profile to keep an eye on. Will need to bring more power to stick at 3B, making me wonder if he is destined for the right side.