Mets Minors: Daniel Juarez and players we missed

When you cover the minor leagues there are always players that slip through the cracks. Players who have shown to be significant talents but fail to make big enough waves to have those talents be noticed. There are a ton of reasons this happens. Some are drafted in the lower rounds and have low expectations, some play lower visibility positions and sometimes, the writers just miss them. I’ve missed prospects in my tenure writing for the Mets but I try to catch up each year and scour the system for the players that slipped through/

Daniel Juarez, LHRP (22) – A+: Daniel Juarez is not a household name. You haven’t purchased a jersey with his name on it and may have never heard his name before today. In March I published a Top 50 Prospect List and Juarez’s name ranked nowhere on it. On Satrday, sitting with the play-by-play team for the Brooklyn Cyclones I was made aware of this glaring oversight.

You may not be aware, because I wasn’t, that Juarez has last given up an earned run since June 22nd of 2022. The peripherals only get better from there. He’s seen his walk rate go down and his strikeout rate go up as all signs point to him having turned the corner. His WHIP for the year is sitting at an absolutely sparkling 0.67 and he seems to have emerged as the closer for the Cyclones team.

How does a player with the success of Juarez not get noticed? Well, the most obvious answer is his position. Starting pitchers have these big outings of several innings that can get a shockingly good or bad performance noticed. Juarez had 18 smaller outings go relatively unnoticed because individually they were good but it’s only when you group them together that you ascribe the word “Great”.

The reality is that players will always be missed from Top Prospect lists and players who don’t belong on them will always be included because of reasons as inane as having an interesting and easily noticed name. Tell me you don’t suddenly want to look at the stats of Zebulon Vermillion because he sounds like a Science Fiction hero.

With it too early to really adjust the Top 20 prospect list too much I figured I’d highlight some of the players who should have been included. Some of the names below may still not get much notice but others may find themselves rising in the ranks quickly.

Jonathan Araúz, IF (24) – AAA: This infielder has been one of the offensive stars for Syracuse, shining best at the beginning of the season but coming back to earth since then. Araúz has some speed and some power and some major league experience that also takes away “Prospect” eligibility. At 24 and in AAA he’s still the right age for the prospect status tag and he seems to have the talent to be a major league utility guy.

Lorenzo Cedrola, OF (25) – AAA: After making a few splashes in Spring Training his was a name on my radar, if not my Top 50. Cedrola has contact ability and good speed but what is interesting to me is that he has some power. At only 5’8” he’s never going to have “impact power” but he seems like he has a home as a fourth or fifth outfielder.

Nathan Lavender, LHRP (23) – AA: As mentioned above, relievers are hard to rank and evaluate but Lavender’s absence is a little more glaring. He’s been very sharp throughout his time in the minors and has continued that trend in 2023. With Bryce Montes de Oca on the IL he might be the top prospect reliever in the organization.

Matt Rudick, OF (24) – AA: At 24 and having bounced around in the minors Rudick doesn’t feel like a top prospect but there are plenty of batters in the Top 50 who have done less. Without other offensive weapons to boast of (beyond J.T. Schwartz) the Rumble Ponies have benefitted from this under the radar hitter.

Junior Tilien, IF (20) – A: Tilien has been on the radar and has, through the course of seasons, drifted onto and off of the Top 50. More established stateside his exclusion from such lists could now be a thing of the past as he’s emerged as a middle of the lineup hitter capable of solid defense. Thanks to Jett Williams he’s been shifted to third and second base but seems to be capable of both roles. To make things better for him, there isn’t really anyone blocking him from promotion either.

Game Notes: 4/22/23 – Brooklyn

I got out to the Saturday afternoon game in Brooklyn and had a blast of a time talking with John from Albany about the farm system and listening to Justin Rocke and his play-by-play. A lot of the conversation did drift to the incredibly talented bunch of players who the Mets started the season in AAA. Had Eduardo Escobar hit, Omar Narvaez not been injured and had the pitchers for the Mets had any luck for staying in the rotation the Syracuse squad would be juggernauts.

The consensus to moving Ronny Mauricio to second instead of the outfield is that as a short-term plan Mauricio might have an easier time learning second while Jeff McNeil already plays the outfield. Long term Mauricio belongs in right field where his arm and legs could translate into Plus defense.

Brooklyn took the game in walk-off fashion and we were particularly impressed by the bat of Stanley Consuegra who made audible contact in each of his at bats. Alex Ramirez provided the winning hit, a double that would have cleared the fence were it not a cold and windy Brooklyn afternoon. Geber looked like a different pitcher as a starter and impressed with his control of the strike zone and efficient innings. Manny Rodriguez (one of two positional converts in the bullpen) closed things out and looked pretty hittable.

I broke out my camera and took some photos through the game and got a decent shot of Kevin Parada. Ultimately this shot led to a ground out.