Danny Abriano, SNY.tv | Twitter |
Every Monday, we'll be taking a look at how the Mets' top prospects (their MLB.com Mets Top 10 rankings are in parenthesis) are faring.
Andres Gimenez, SS, Double-A Binghamton (No. 1) -- ETA 2020
The 20-year-old Gimenez -- who is the Mets' No. 1 prospect now that Pete Alonso's prospect status has expired -- is heating up again after an 0-for-10 skid early last week. In his last three games, Gimenez has gone 5-for-10 with one double, one triple, and two RBI.
Overall, he is hitting just .246/.310/.370 in 76 games this season with four homers, five triples, and 14 doubles. Gimenez, who can be a staple for the Mets at either shortstop or second base, was recently profiled by MetsBlog contributor Joe DeMayo here.
Ronny Mauricio, SS, Low-A Columbia (No. 2) -- ETA 2022
Mauricio, who we recently profiled here, is a switch-hitter who the Mets gave $2.1 million in 2017 as an international free agent.
The 18-year-old has five hits in his last eight at-bats, including one triple and one homer. Overall, he is hitting .280/.318/.382 with three homers, four triples, and 19 doubles in 86 games this season.
Mauricio, who is roughly three years younger than the average player in his league, is the No. 45 prospect in baseball, according to Baseball Prospectus.
Great day from Ronny Mauricio yesterday with the @ColaFireflies. 👏 pic.twitter.com/eVJEsC3H06
- Mets Farm Report (@MetsFarmReport) July 20, 2019
Anthony Kay, LHP, Triple-A Syracuse (No. 3) -- ETA Late-2019
After dominating for Double-A Binghamton earlier this season, the 24-year-old Kay took it on the chin a bit during his first four Triple-A starts, but was strong on July 12 -- allowing one run in 5.2 innings -- and turned in another solid start on July 17, allowing three runs on seven hits in 6.0 innings while walking two and striking out three.
Due to his incredible display before being promoted, Kay has risen from the club's eighth-ranked preseason prospect to the the third-best.
Mark Vientos, 3B, Low-A Columbia (No. 4) -- ETA 2021
Vientos has cooled off a bit lately, but is still having a very good year with Columbia (where he is very young for the league at 19). Overall, he is hitting .266/.312/.424 with 10 homers and 20 doubles in 85 games.
With the Mets needing a long-term answer at third base, the 19-year-old Vientos could be the guy.
"With bat speed and strength, Vientos produces exit velocities that are among the best in the system, up there with the likes of slugger Peter Alonso," MLB.com notes in their scouting report.
Ronny Mauricio and @MarkVientos_5 are quite the combo. 👀 pic.twitter.com/4irq8jXPlJ
- Mets Farm Report (@MetsFarmReport) July 21, 2019
Shervyen Newton, SS, Low-A Columbia (No. 5) -- ETA 2022
Newton was hitting just .078 roughly three weeks into the season, but he has almost crawled all the way out of the early hole he dug. A lot of that had to do with a huge hot streak he was on until a few days ago.
Overall, he is hitting .219/.279/.340 with six homers, 12 doubles and one triple in 66 games.
The 20-year-old Newton -- who we recently profiled here -- shows "a very advanced approach at the plate for a prospect his age," according to MLB.com's scouting report. He hit .280/.408/.449 with with five homers, 16 doubles, and two triples in 56 games last season for Rookie level Kingsport.
David Peterson, LHP, Double-A Binghamton (No. 6) -- ETA 2020
Peterson has been relatively sharp over the last month, but struggled during his last start, allowing four runs on eight hits while walking one and striking out two in 3.1 innings on July 16.
The 23-year-old has a 4.43 ERA and 1.43 WHIP with 93 strikeouts in 87.1 innings (18 starts) this season.
Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP, Low-A Columbia (No. 7) -- ETA 2022
Woods Richardson hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his last eight starts. In his start on July 17, he allowed two runs on four hits while walking none and striking out eight in 5.1 innings.
Overall this season, the 18-year-old -- who had a rough four-start stretch in May that has skewed his overall numbers, has a 4.54 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 90 strikeouts in 73.1 innings (19 starts).
The Mets' second-round pick (No. 48) in the 2018 draft, Woods Richardson has one of the most electric arms in the system, with a fastball that reaches as high as 97 mph and had Mickey Callaway raving during Spring Training.
Similar to Ronny Mauricio, look for Woods Richardson to get some love on Top 100 Prospect lists later this season if he excels.
MetsBlog contributor Joe DeMayo recently profiled Woods Richardson here.
Thomas Szapucki, LHP, High-A St. Lucie (No. 8) -- ETA 2021
Now recovered from Tommy John surgery, the 23-year-old Szapucki -- whose innings and pitch counts are being increased very slowly -- was recently promoted to High-A St. Lucie. He had his longest outing of the season on July 16, tossing 4.2 innings while allowing two runs on four hits while walking two and striking out seven.
Overall this season, Szapucki has a 2.40 ERA and 1.17 WHIP with 36 strikeouts in 30.0 innings.
"His explosive fastball is electric with plus life, and he throws it in the 92-97 mph range," according to MLB.com's scouting report. "His power breaking ball can be a second plus pitch which freezes hitters and misses bats."
I dont know about you guys but this right here has sex appeal IMO. Mets pitching prospect Thomas Szapucki showing off this breaking ball all night last night for @stluciemets pic.twitter.com/i0YZtzTqKq
- Ernest Dove (@ernestdove) July 17, 2019
Brett Baty, 3B, Rookie level Kingsport
Josh Wolf, RHP, Rookie level GCL
Matthew Allan, RHP, Rookie level GCL
The three most highly-regarded players the Mets took in the MLB Draft in June -- Baty (first round, No. 12 overall), Wolf (second round, 53rd overall), and Allan (third round, No. 89 overall) -- will all likely be on any future versions of the Mets' Top 10.
Baty, 19, hit .380/.480./.650 with one homer and three doubles for the GCL Mets before being promoted to Kingsport. For Kingsport, he has just seven hits in 45 at-bats.
Wolf, 18, has been assigned to the GCL Mets and made his debut on July 20, tossing a scoreless inning while allowing one hit, walking none and striking out two.
The 18-year-old Allan, who was rated by MLB.com as the 13th-best player in the MLB Draft and dropped due to signability concerns, is also with the GCL Mets and has not yet made his debut.