Baseball America recently released its midseason Top 30 prospects updates for all organizations, and unsurprisingly, most of the top prospects in the organization are in the upper levels of the minors – Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Mark Vientos. There are also a fair amount of players in St. Lucie or in the Florida Complex League, but fewer for the Mets High-A affiliate in Brooklyn. That being said, there are a few interesting names playing for the Cyclones this season that are worth keeping an eye on.
JT Schwartz
Schwartz was drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 MLBDraft by the Mets out of UCLA. Ranked as the No. 25 prospect in the system by Baseball America, Schwartz won the Pac-12 batting title as a sophomore in 2021, hitting .396. In his two years with the Bruins he simply raked – a .377/.481/.561 line in one of the most competitive conferences in the country. After hitting just .195/.320/.256 with St. Lucie after the draft, Schwartz is off to a .265/.385/.367 start to the season with the Cyclones. Schwartz is coming off of a huge week against the Nationals High-A affiliate, Wilmington, in which he went 9-for-17 at the plate.
He is a lefty-batting first baseman with a stance that is very reminiscent of Matt Olson – slightly open stance with the bat held upright and extended over the plate. If his power develops, he could be someone who finds himself moving up into a top prospect conversation.
Rowdey Jordan
Jordan is a switch-hitting outfielder who was selected by the Mets in the 11th round of the 2021 MLB Draft after his senior season at Mississippi State. He broke out in 2021, clubbing 10 home runs for the Bulldogs and hitting .323/.417/.547 en route to the College World Series championship. However, he struggled in 30 games in St. Lucie, batting just .229/.333/.294. So far in 2022, he is off to a better start with Brooklyn, hitting .252/.347/.388 in 28 games. He has already hit 10 doubles, compared to just four in 2021. The 23-year-old has matured well as a pro and has played all three outfield positions. His ceiling is probably as a fourth outfielder, but his switch-hitting and versatility add some value. He is unranked in Baseball America’s update.
Junior Santos
If you’ve followed the Mets minors for a time, you’ve probably heard of Santos by now. The 2022 season is his fifth in the organization, and he has been a Top 30 prospect in the system since 2019, topping out at No. 10 heading into 2021. A rough season in St. Lucie (4.59 ERA in 96.0 IP, 79 K, 38 BB) saw his stock drop some to No. 17 on the BA midseason update, but some of that was the result of tinkering with his breaking ball. Thus far in 2022, he has posted a 5.01 ERA with better strikeout numbers in seven games. The bad news is that has walked 16 batters in 23.1 innings. A hard-thrower who tops out at around 97, but the biggest key for him is going to be reining in the walks and refining his breaking ball.
Wilmer Reyes
Admittedly, Reyes is a player who has been with the Mets since 2016 and is a career .274/.324/.381 hitter who has never played above High-A. In 29 games this year, he is batting .218/.256/.282 with the Cyclones and has struck out 32 times in 118 plate appearances. So why is the 24-year-old someone to keep an eye on? A few reasons. He was limited to only 16 games in 2021 due to injury and hit .323/.350/.441 with Brooklyn in 2019 when they were at Short-Season team in the New York-Penn League. Also, he has a great glove and a plus arm that makes him one of the top defensive shortstops in the South Atlantic League.
Honorable Mentions:
- Sammy Tavarez – RHP
- Brandon McIlwain – OF
- Shervyen Newton – INF
- Jose Peroza – INF
- Matt Rudick – OF
Despite a lack of high-end prospects (though Matt Allan is on Brooklyn’s I.L.), the Cyclones are a team worth watching because of a high number of intriguing players who with some development could take the next step toward being bigger names in the system.
A noble effort to spin gold out of straw, but it would take Rumpelstiltskin himself to turn these guys into serious MLB players.
A nice piece Joe, but it screams volumes in that Palmer isn’t mentioned. He and Newton went through a hitting apprenticeship this past winter similar to Plummer in St Louis the previous winter. Newton has been promoted while Palmer is trying to stay above .100. They keep playing him and giving him a chance to learn his new style of pitch recognition but…
As for some of the names mentioned, Jordan and McIlwain have been above average, but that’s it. A first baseman hitting an empty .265 (after going 4/8 yesterday in the doubleheader) doesn’t do much for me. I agree with James above. Can’t believe they won 13 games out of 30!