A 20-year-old shortstop playing in AA-Binghamton and managing an OPS around .700 is nothing to sneeze at. Though top prospects should not be hammering out paltry .241/.305/.378 batting lines either. When we began the year, people had Andres Gimenez and Pete Alonso as the top two prospects in the Met system. Most, in fact, labeled Gimenez as the better of the two. Most of a season later and it seems that Alonso was the far wiser bet.
Gimenez had played 109 games in the 2019 season, all of them at the shortstop position. A player that should have been fighting to move Amed Rosario into centerfield seems to have taken a step back with production below his typical minor league levels. While his defensive numbers have been steady, everyone wants to know why he just isn’t hitting like we expected.
We may never know why. Outside of the DSL Gimenez has never looked like a superstar slugger or the next Jose Reyes. He has been steady in producing a near .700 OPS in most of the levels he’s played. With a .683 OPS, what makes his 2019 production seem so bad?
The answer is partially the fault of the fans, who expect players labeled “Top Prospect” to never stumble and partially because Gimenez has never been great at taking walks and he’s only gotten worse in this capacity. Not only has he hit for a lower average but the difference in his OBP is marked but I actually think it’s more of the former than the latter.
Hope at the End of the Tunnel
In the past week things have been looking up for Gimenez, who has two home runs and has hit .316 over the last 10 games. More importantly, his numbers indicate that he still looks like a 15 homerun, 30 stolen base shortstop who should be bringing a Plus glove with him to the major league level.
I won’t deny that he’s been supplanted by the likes of Ronny Mauricio, Mark Vientos and Francisco Alvarez at the top of the prospect rankings but it’s good to take a moment and remember that Gimenez still looks like a bonafide major league shortstop and will only be twenty one years old in 2020.
AAA:
Syracuse Mets
Ali Sanchez succeeding without being noticed – The defensive catcher has not appeared to hit that well since his promotion to AAA, hitting only .257 without any home runs, but his OPS is .737 which is plenty good to get Sanchez into the conversation for 2020.
Harol Gonzalez shrugs off promotion – Most players get a bit knocked around when they go up a level nut through his first 30.1 innings in AAA he’s got a 2.67 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP.
AA:
Binghamton Rumble Ponies
Patrick Mazeika needs to catch – His bat has been good in 2019 and the .445 SLG is a great sign but it’s far less special from a 1B/DH than it is from a catcher.
Stephen Villines goes long – For a relief pitcher going 3.0 innings is not a common sight but Villines did just that, scattering three hits and striking out 4 in scoreless work.
A+:
St. Lucie Mets
Thomas Szapucki pitches six – This marks the longest outing since coming back from injury and should only make fans more optimistic about his future.
A:
Columbia Fireflies
Mark Vientos is back from injury – He had been looking like he was about to catch fire before getting hurt. Let’s hope he can bounce back.
SS:
Brooklyn Cyclones
Garrison Bryant looks like he’s Top of the Class – Entering into 2020 he’ll likely be the top pitcher in the Columbia Fireflies’ rotation.
R+:
Kingsport Mets
Scott Ota is ready for more – At 22 he’s doing well in Kingsport but is too much older than the other players for it to matter.
Francisco Alvarez adds two – He launched two home runs on Saturday continuing a great Met prospect debut season.
With Gimenez at -3 in peer age, I think we should all take a chill pill on on 2019. In many respects he has well outplayed his peer group and taking it on the chin with elders. Its ok to stumble, and even fall. How he ultimately responds may be far more a sign of his make up than simply that he fell. I get we live in a “new shiny thing” world, but I have nothing but super high marks for Gimenez. If he has to repeat or partly repeat AA, he is still ahead of the game.
You are correct and I feel like I’ve been too critical. I still love the ceilings of Alvarez, Vientos and Mauricio and think they have more “Star” potential in the long run.
Sure. And I dont want to take anything at all away from Mauricio, Vientos, and Alvarez or anyone else. I think if you have a guy at ** -4 ** (I just checked) excelling though the system at every step and starts to see some clouds at AA when competition is getting pretty close to the Show, particularly with more mature pitchers, its fine. Otherwise you’re looking at a Harper-level kind of talent. I think the ceiling is still pretty high even if he doesn’t rank #1 any more. If he can get the hit tool back to scouting projections (60), you have a fine MLB SS.
Gimenez will be fine, some people forget he is 20 years old ! He is a good prospect,why because he is solid in all aspects of the game. Let him repeat AA and move a little slower with his minor league training.
I don’t like the Production Expectation for very Young Players, but a developmental “stall” over two seasons and 150 games is a concern…although I’ve only seen the Box Scores and the stat sheets.
Hopefully, he’s working on his weaknesses as energetically as the Pitchers who are exploiting them.
I’d hardly call what Gimenez did at Double-A in 2018 as a stall.
I’m with Chris on how to view Gimenez’ 2019. Plus, his numbers are being dragged down by an awful stretch in late May to late June. In his last 50 games, he has a .757 OPS with a .288 BABIP.
Yes, I expected numbers better than that. But BNG as a team has a .690 OPS. If a very young SS outhits the team by 67 points of OPS over nearly half a season (he’s played 109 games) – it doesn’t seem like panic time to me.
Use whatever word you want.::::: I make no conclusion except the fact that he’s doing what he did 500 ab’s ago. There’s a lot to grow into, and the physical and skill changes can demonstrate themselves almost overnight with a kid who’s competing at a very high level— “hanging in there” is actually a very good indicator
David, I can’t believe I’m agreeing with Chris so completely, but I see Gimenez as the best prospect on the Mets. I don’t see what Mauricio/Vientos have done to overtake Gimenez. Both are very middling in A ball. Gimenez has graduated that level. As a catcher, Alvarez is the only player in the conversation, but if I were ranking the Mets system right now, I’d leave #1 blank. None of these guys are a #1 prospect. Gimenez wasn’t last year, he isn’t this year. But, the guys behind him don’t have impressive numbers either, and they are b e h i n d Gimenez. He did then what they are doing now, and even better. So why are they now ahead of him?
Glad to see Valdez was bumped up to GCL. He sat the first game, then played the next game in RF. He went 0-2, 2 BB, 2 Runs Scored, 1 error, 1 assist. LOL! Pretty eventful night! Meantime, McIntosh is up to .235 for that team.
Lastly, Wolf and Allen both pitched on Sunday night, with Wolf starting. Both threw 2 innings each, no runs or walks, 7 K’s between them. 🙂 There may lay our next #1 prospect.