Baseball
Add news
News

Mets Minors: All-Decade Team

0 7

The Brooklyn Cyclones closed out this decade of Mets minor league baseball by becoming the third affiliate to win a league championship in the 2010s, joining the 2014 Binghamton Mets and 2013 Savannah Sand Gnats. Between one name change, two new franchises, and one Tim Tebow, it was quite the ten years in the organization.

While the Mets’ system produced major league stars like Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, they don’t crack our list of the most notable minor league players from the decade – that is, those who stood out regardless of how their big league careers unfolded.

Without further ado, here’s MetsMinors’ best 25-man roster from the 2010s, a nod to the rule that is also staying behind in this decade.

Manager – Luis Rojas

Our team needs a manager, and few are more qualified than Rojas, who made stops in the Gulf Coast League (2011), Savannah (2012-14), St. Lucie, (2015-16), and Binghamton (2017-18). He compiled 549 wins and captured a South Atlantic League championship with the Sand Gnats in 2013.

Wins aren’t the ultimate goal in the minor leagues, but Rojas’ track record of development is just as notable. He skippered the 2017 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year (Corey Oswalt), the 2015 Florida State League Player of the Year (Dominic Smith), and the Mets’ four most recent all-stars.

Rojas, the brother of former Met Moises Alou, was deservedly promoted to the major league staff as the quality control coach for the 2019 season and was a preliminary candidate for the 2020 managerial gig.

Bench Coach: Pedro Lopez 696-701 (.498), 5 playoff appearances

Catcher – Kevin Plawecki

Plawecki had all the makings of a future starting catcher when the Mets selected him 35th overall in 2012. Though things never fully materialized at the major league level, he excelled throughout his time in the minors.

Plawecki hit .307 with 19 home runs and 144 RBI over his first two full seasons, which he began in Savannah (where he was an all-star) and ended in Las Vegas. Mets fans were given a glimpse of what they hoped would be their battery for years to come in the summer of 2014 when Plawecki and Syndergaard represented the organization at the Futures Game in Minnesota.

All told, Plawecki posted a 125 wRC+ in 1,779 minor league plate appearances with the Mets. His bat never came around in four major league seasons (77 OPS+) and was shipped to the Cleveland Indians for Walker Lockett and Sam Haggerty prior to the 2019 season.

Backup: Patrick Mazeika (1801 PA, .278/.371/.424, 40 HR, 131 wRC+)

First Base – Pete Alonso

Alonso had the 92nd-most minor league plate appearances in the organization this decade, but his home run hitting prowess (59 long balls in two-and-a-half seasons) landed him in the top ten. The 2016 second-round pick parlayed that success into one of the greatest rookie seasons in Mets franchise history.

Alonso burst onto the scene in his first professional season, hitting .321 in 30 games with Brooklyn. In just that short time he earned an all-star nod there and the next season in St. Lucie, where he maintained strong numbers even after missing six weeks with a broken hand. In 2018 he earned a non-roster invite to major league spring training and enjoyed a season that put him on the national map. His 36 home runs and 119 RBI were the most by a Mets minor leaguer since Brett Harper in 2005.

During those 30 games with Brooklyn, Alonso’s power profile was frequently compared to that of Mike Napoli by Tom Gamboa, who managed both players. Through just one major league season, Alonso is already 20 percent of the way to Napoli’s respectable 267 career home run total.

Backup: Allan Dykstra (1691 PA, .271/.418/.479, 63 HR, 148 wRC+)

Second Base – Dilson Herrera

Herrera was projected to be the second baseman of the future in Queens when the Mets acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the deal that sent away Marlon Byrd and John Buck. Injuries, however, prevented Herrera from ever getting an extended chance in the majors.

After hitting .323 with 13 home runs between St. Lucie and Binghamton in 2014, he joined Jose ReyesFernando Martinez, and Ruben Tejada, and Jenrry Mejia as the only Mets to debut in their age-20 season since 1989. In 2015, between brief major league stints, Herrera hit .331 with a .899 OPS in 84 games in Las Vegas. He had not reached the majors in 2016 when he was dealt at the deadline to the Cincinnati Reds for Jay Bruce.

Herrera rejoined the Mets for the 2019 season but did not earn a call-up despite hitting a career-high 24 home runs for Syracuse. He finished the decade with a 125 wRC+ and 61 home runs in the organization and was signed by the Baltimore Orioles this December.

Backup: Luis Santana (611 PA, .329/.426/.465, 7 HR, 153 wRC+)

Shortstop – Wilmer Flores

Before he captured the hearts of Mets fans through his 2015 heroics and strong play in a utility infield role for six seasons, Flores was a perpetual prospect. Signed on his 16th birthday in 2007, he was the rare international minor leaguer to debut in Kingsport, and though his ascent through the system was gradual, he was still only 21 when he reached Triple-A in 2013.

Had Flores grown up in the United States, he would have been preparing for his junior year of high school when he hit .307 between Kingsport, Brooklyn, and Savannah in 2008. The Venezuelan made Futures Game appearances in 2009 and 2012 and garnered midseason all-star selections with Savannah in 2010, St. Lucie in 2012, and Las Vegas in 2013.

Flores stood out with low strikeout rates and gap-to-gap power over 2,450 plate appearances. Among players who hit that 2,000 PA threshold this decade, Flores’ .464 slugging percentage was fourth-best.

Backup: Andres Gimenez (1657 PA, .278/.356/.405, 22 HR, 123 wRC+)

Third Base – Zach Lutz

Lutz was a talented hitter throughout his time in the organization but struggled to stay healthy and ultimately played in just 22 major league games. Somewhere in between two foot fractures, a quadriceps strain, two concussions, a hamstring strain, and a broken finger, Lutz posted a 135 wRC+ and 62 home runs in the minors.

Added to the 40-man roster ahead of the 2011 season, Lutz was released in 2014 and joined the Rakuten Eagles in Japan. The Mets brought him back to serve as Triple-A depth in July of 2015. He joined the Marlins in 2016 and retired following the season.

Backup: Eric Campbell (2427 PA, .300/.395/.446, 133 wRC+)

Left Field – Michael Conforto

At 582 plate appearances, Conforto was the quickest to the majors among players on this dream team. The tenth overall pick in 2014 was a standout with Brooklyn in his debut season and, after just 91 games with St. Lucie and Binghamton in 2015, was promoted to join the big club.

Conforto hit .161 over a 63-game stretch in 2016 so he was sent to Las Vegas and proved that it was simply an aberration, posting a 1.209 OPS in 33 games and earning a recall.

Even with qualification standards set as low as 200 plate appearances, no Mets minor leaguer topped Conforto’s 167 wRC+ over the past decade. He will be a fixture in the Mets’ lineup for years to come.

Backup: Dustin Lawley (2080 PA, .252/.308/.457, 76 HR, 109 wRC+)

Center Field – Brandon Nimmo

Nimmo, like Flores, joined the organization carrying high expectations at a young age. It took him a while, debuting in the majors in June of 2016 after being drafted five years earlier, but the wait seems to have been worth it.

Nimmo earned three straight all-star nods from 2013-2015 and bookended that same stretch with Futures Game appearances. Despite a time-consuming injury in 2012 and a pair of “down” years, he still finished his minor league run with a 130 wRC+ and, of course, 354 walks, second-most in the decade.

Backup: Matt den Dekker (2324 PA, .288/.347/.477, 62 HR, 121 wRC+)

Right Field – Travis Taijeron

Though Taijeron’s major league career is unlikely to consist of more than 52 at-bats in late 2017, he will go down as the premier masher among Mets minor leaguers in the 2010s. Aderlin Rodriguez, who hit the second-most home runs in the organization this decade, would have to rejoin the team and hit 79 balls over the fence to catch Taijeron, who hit 159 in eight seasons.

Though his power was undeniable, Taijeron would have had brighter major league prospects had he not struggled to put the bat on the ball. His 1,048 strikeouts were 415 more than Champ Stuart in second place.

Taijeron, a 2011 draft pick, became a free agent after the 2017 season, played for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate in 2018, and rejoined the Mets to play in Syracuse in 2019. He finished the decade as the organization’s leader in games, at-bats, hits, doubles, home runs, runs scored, runs batted in, walks, and strikeouts.

Backup: Kevin Kaczmarski (1668 PA, .290/.373/.402, 13 HR, 120 wRC+)

Starting Pitchers – Steven MatzRobert GsellmanRafael MonteroGabriel YnoaMichael Fulmer

Of the 52 Mets pitchers who topped minor league 350.0 innings in the 2010s, only Matz recorded an ERA under 3.00. It’s impressive, considering the 2009 draft pick didn’t reach full-season ball until 2013 following surgery to repair a torn UCL. Once healthy, Matz was excellent, striking out 359 batters in 352.1 innings in two-and-a-half seasons before joining the major league team for good. He will forever be revered in Binghamton, where he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of the clinching game of the 2014 Eastern League championship.

Before becoming a mainstay in the Mets’ bullpen, Gsellman rose through the minors as an effective starting pitcher. The 2011 13th-rounder posted sub-3.00 ERAs in three straight years beginning in 2013 and was named the organization’s Sterling Pitcher of the Year in 2015.

Montero’s performance never quite reached the level of his prospect hype, but few Mets minor leaguers were better than he was from 2011-2014. His 3.26 ERA and 5.7% home run rate in the decade, though, would have looked much better had he not fallen apart in Las Vegas and Binghamton in 2016. Montero will still only be 29 for all of the 2020 season and is looking to build on a strong return to the major leagues in 2019 with the Texas Rangers.

Ynoa did not have overpowering stuff but used craftiness to be consistently solid from his debut in 2010 through his last year in the organization in 2016. He was saved from minor league free agency in August and appeared to have a chance at a roster spot in 2017 but was traded to the Baltimore Orioles before spring training opened. For the decade, Ynoa recorded a 3.36 ERA and minuscule 4.1% walk rate in 136 games (128 starts) with the Mets.

Fulmer battled injuries throughout his time with the Mets, but when healthy it was evident that his future was bright. He became expendable in 2015 when, after developing arms like deGrom, Syndergaard, and Matz, the organization had the opportunity to acquire Yoenis Cespedes to bolster the major league lineup. Fulmer headed to Detroit and lived up to – or exceeded – expectations, winning the 2016 AL Rookie of the Year and earning a spot on the 2017 AL All-Star team. He missed the 2019 season after Tommy John surgery but should be able to contribute at a high level again once healthy.

Relief Pitchers – Paul SewaldLuis MateoAkeel MorrisT.J. Chism

No Mets minor leaguer consistently held down a closer role over the past decade like Sewald, who led the organization with 75 saves. He was an all-star at Binghamton in 2015, where he finished with 24 saves and a 1.75 ERA over 51.1 innings.

Despite always being older than his peers due to MLB penalties that prevented him from signing until he was 21, Mateo broke out as a top prospect in the organization with Brooklyn in 2012. His career took a turn for the worse when he needed Tommy John surgery in 2013, and didn’t pitch a full season until 2016. Mateo became a free agent after the 2017 season. His career numbers were strong, even with underperformance and the aforementioned injuries sprinkled in. He finished his time in the organization with a 3.08 ERA and 4.27 K/BB ratio.

Morris seemed destined for a bright major league future as a middle reliever but never mitigated control problems that had plagued him since the Mets drafted him as a starter from the Virgin Islands in 2010. Morris was a midseason all-star with Savannah in 2014, where he allowed just four earned runs in 57.0 innings, and with St. Lucie in 2015, before earning a call-up straight to the majors on June 17. That night in Toronto, he allowed five earned runs and recorded just two outs and never donned the orange and blue again. Morris was immediately optioned to Binghamton and traded to Atlanta for Kelly Johnson in 2016.

Chism, a 32nd round pick in 2009, outperformed expectations before hitting a wall in Double-A and earning a release in 2014. He spent his first three pro seasons bouncing between Kingsport and Brooklyn, and excelled once reaching full-season ball in 2012, earning an all-star nod with Savannah after posting 2.34 ERA. He found similar success as St. Lucie’s closer in 2013, saving 20 games. Chism ultimately recorded a 2.78 ERA with 49 saves in six seasons.

Загрузка...

Comments

Комментарии для сайта Cackle
Загрузка...

More news:

Read on Sportsweek.org:

South Side Sox
Razzball
Mets Merized Online
Azcentral.com: Arizona Diamondbacks

Other sports

Sponsored