7/21 - Mets Minors: Reinforcements are inbound

Players who could be stepping up to save the Mets’ season

At one point of the season the Mets were over 20 games over .500 and the team seemed like they were not only playoff bound but seemed like they were destined to have a rematch with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Championship series. The Mets then had a rough turn with consecutive bad series that is ultimately still ongoing. Juan Soto appears to be doing his part, but the Mets have seen diminished production from Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso and other key performers on offense while Huascar Brazoban, Ryne Stanek and other pitchers have faltered. Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea have returned but the Mets are ready to see other names join that list.

Brooks Raley, LHRP - The Mets have already promoted Raley back to the majors and they badly needed his arm in the bullpen with an assortment of bargain basement names like Dicky Lovelady filling A.J. Minter’s injured shoes. Raley’s rehab probably could not have been better and it seems like he could be elevated into a key high-leverage position almost immediately.

Francisco Alvarez, C - The Mets #1 catcher had not looked like their #1 catcher back when the team demoted him to AAA after June 21st. Since that demotion Alvarez has performed like a superstar prospect for Syracuse with a .975 OPS and 11 homers in 19 games. Sure, AAA is not the majors and he showed little power in Queens but Alvarez needed a moment to get his swing back on course and it seems he got it. Let us also remember that other players have been demoted to AAA and not shown much improvement at all (Luisangel Acuna).

Jose Butto, RHRP - With injuries starting to clear the Mets are almost definitely not going to worry about stretching Butto out for potential starting pitcher innings. That being said his ability to toss multiple innings and give stability to the middle of the bullpen will be huge. He’s had several outings in the minors and is likely to play at least one more week there before the Mets consider activation but he could be back in Queens as early as the weekend.

Nolan McLean, RHSP - While he pitched a bad game on the 18th, the Mets are likely out of excuses to promote their 1a/1b prospect starter at the next injury. In fact, if the team does mean to continue using a six man rotation, the time might be nigh… except for the other option standing beside him.

Brandon Sproat, RHSP - Twice, the Mets have promoted Blade Tidwell to make starts because they wanted to protect their higher ceiling prospects. People had begun doubting if Sproat, indeed, had a higher ceiling but their patience appears to be paying off. The prospect starter has strung together 4 solid or better starts in a row and presents the Mets with a lower risk option. Ultimately, factoring in bullpen options, it wouldn’t be bad to test the waters with both pitchers given the Mets still project to be in the playoffs.

Pablo Reyes, Util - He’s not a savior but he is a whole lot more, offensively, than Luisangel Acuna. The Mets do need the player capable of playing multiple positions and Reyes gives the Mets a whole lot more than they’ve been getting. I figure, with his OPS over 1.000 he’ll be opting out of the Mets if they don’t promote him soon.

AAA Syracuse Mets

Most of you will not be familiar with the name Dylan Ross. The 24 year old started his year with the Brooklyn Cyclones, having not pitched for the Mets much at all since being drafted in the 13th round of the 2022 draft. The older prospect blew through Brooklyn (which was expected based on age) and settled into AA. He was mostly good for the Rumble Ponies and got a surprise promotion to AAA where he emerged as a surprisingly strong bullpen candidate for the Mets future. What’s changed? If you guessed he returned to health with more velocity, you’d be correct. He can hit triple digits and this new wrinkle in his abilities has made him look like a more than viable arm.

Notes:

• Drew Gilbert, OF (24) - Drew Gilbert somehow quietly had himself a resplendent start to the month of July. He’s got a 1.004 OPS on the month thanks, almost entirely, to his SLG.

AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies

There is a player who hasn’t been talked about much (positively) in recent memory and his name is Kevin Parada. I saw him in Brooklyn a few years back and I really liked his swing and thought the Mets would be deciding between two strong hitting catchers in the majors (between him and Francisco Alvarez) by now. That never came to pass as AA seemed to prove a bridge too far for Parada who struggled mightily at the level. I, in fact, dropped him very deep down in my Top 50 this year and wondered if he’d be off it entirely. Now, that seems foolish. He has followed up a strong .977 OPS June with a 1.079 OPS in July becoming something of a doubles machine. He doesn’t walk enough and there are flaws but the improvement needs to be lauded.

Notes:

• Jonah Tong, RHP (22) - I spoke of McLean as a 1a/1b pitcher and that’s only because he’s proven capable in AAA. Tong has a higher ceiling and it’s time to test him.

• Jett Williams, SS (21) - Now that they are playing side by side it seems that Benge is winning the comparison battle for top prospect.

• Carson Benge, OF (22) - What happens when a complete hitter gets promoted from a pitcher’s ballpark to a hitter’s one? His OPS goes up over 100 points at a higher level.

• Ryan Clifford, 1B (21) - We got excited too soon. Clifford went from hot to cold quickly.

• Jacob Reimer, 3B (21) - AA has not been much of a hurdler for Reimer who is getting some love from the broader scouting community.

• Jonathan Santucci, LHP (22) - First outing was very good. The second one was less so. Overall it was more good than bad since his promotion.

• Zach Thornton, LHP (23) - Injured (back soon)

• Ryan Lambert, RHP (22) - He’s been consistently good and I’m not sure why he’s still in AA.

• Anthony Nunez, RHP (23) - Perhaps the Mets should stop purchasing bargain basement relievers so they can promote prospects to AAA.

• Chris Suero, C (21) - He earned that promotion I’ve been calling for… since April.

A+ Brooklyn Cyclones

Another surprise name for a feature. Brendan Girton is likely not a name you’ve heard of much before. The Mets drafted him in the 10th round of the 2024 draft and he’s 23 years old and pitching for Brooklyn. He should just be organizational filler, but he’s looking like somewhat more of a prospect today. It seems that Girton slipped to the 10th round because of injury and might be something of a steal as he’s managed a crisply low WHIP and a K/9 safely over 10.0 for the year. He’s much more in the mold of Zach Thornton or Jack Wenninger but he’s earned his way into the Top 50 with a great year thus far.

Notes:

• Joel Diaz, RHP (21) - Getting a bit more consistency but we should want a higher level result.

• Nate Dohm, RHP (22) - Mets seem to be limiting his innings.

• Will Watson, RHP (22) - Like Girton with slightly more humble stats. Watson was a 7th round pick and is having a fine year.

• Ronald Hernandez, C (21) - He’s now the only real catching prospect (at the level) and we’re hoping he can show more glimpses of offensive potential.

• Jesus Baez, SS (20) - Power and eye are good but he needs to hit more.

• A.J. Ewing, CF (20) - His batting average falling to the .250 range has humbled this once fast rising prospect.

• Colin Houck, SS (20) - After his promotion he once more looks like he’ll break records… for Ks.

A Port St. Lucie Mets

I’ve talked about two players at this level regularly. Daviel Hurtado and Daiverson Gutierrez. They remain the only real stories of note at this level. Hurtado is having his innings limited but appears to be on track to continue to rise through the minors and Gutierrez might have the best eye in the organization. The young catcher knows how to take a walk as his OBP is always over 100 points higher than his batting average. I think the hitting is there but it hasn’t fully manifested. Might be because there isn’t much other hitting talent on the team with him.

R FCL Mets

The Mets top draft pick Mitch Voit has signed and been assigned to the FCL to join a team in need of some buzzworthy prospects. Voit may well be the best player on this team and most noteworthy without having had a single minor league at bat. I liked the Mets pick of Voit (far more than any of their other picks) as he plays a skill position with a solid hitting tool to go along with it. I’ll just assume the Mets and the rest of baseball deemed Jack Bauer unsignable.

Notes:

• Edward Lantigua, OF (18) - The next biggest name to Voit on the FCL team had himself a poor June but has been resurgent in July. I like players who know the strikezone and Lantigua has that tool.

• Randy Guzman, OF (20) - The tall outfielder hasn’t had a full season but seems to be on the right track offensively.

• Julio Zayas, C (19) - He’s been pretty good but not something to write home about just yet.

R DSL Orange and Blue Mets

Elian Pena has a lot of buzz about him and with good reason. He appears to be a great young prospect with a bright future ahead of him. The numbers in the DSL just don’t really tell me anything yet. He has great potential but seems to have great games and stretches where he’s very pedestrian. I’d like to see him have solid stretches of good games, even if it means less great ones.

Notes:

• Yovanny Rodriguez, C (18) - I can say that I’m seeing plenty of consistency from Rodriguez who should be bound for the US soon.

• Jean Brito, RHP (19) - He actually lowered his already good WHIP by 2 points since last writing.

• Roybert Herrera, 3B (18) - One of the more consistent performers.

• Yensi Rivas, SS (18) - A fringe noteworthy name having some good performances.