The Mets' system got a boost with their terrific Draft in June but took a serious hit when they traded pitching prospects Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson to the Blue Jays for Marcus Stroman. Here's how the top prospects are performing, with MLB.com system rankings for each player in parentheses...
Ronny Mauricio, SS, Low-A Columbia -- ETA 2022 (No. 1)
Recently profiled by SNY's Joe DeMayo, Mauricio is a switch-hitting SS. Signed July 2, 2017, by the Mets as an international free agent, Mauricio completed Monday's regular-season finale for Low-A Columbia with a 1-for-4 performance that included a two-RBI triple. In his 116 games, he hit four home runs and 37 RBI with a slash line of .268/.307/.357. Prior to Monday, Mauricio's production reflected his numbers on the season as he hit .267 with four hits in 17 at-bats over four games since last Wednesday.
Brett Baty, 3B, Short Season-A Brooklyn -- ETA 2023 (No. 2)
After he spent majority of his 2019 season with the Rookie level Kingsport Mets, climbing the ladder as a first-round pick in June's draft, Baty bumped up another notch in Short Season-A Brooklyn. With the Cyclones since last Friday, Baty has played three games, going 1-for-9 with four walks. Brooklyn finishes its regular season slate Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with a three-game set at MCU Park against the Hudson Valley Renegades of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Andres Gimenez, SS, Double-A Binghamton -- ETA 2020 (No. 3)
The highest ranked of seven players announced last Wednesday to join the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League for the Mets, Gimenez sports a .250/.309/.387 slash line with the Double-A Binghamton. Gimenez's season with Double-A Binghamton ended with Monday's game against the Hartford Yard Goats of the Colorado Rockies. In the finale, Gimenez went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored out of the two spot. He recorded a hit in all but one of his last seven games, batting .321 with a 9-for-28 mark.
.@andresgimenez over his last 10 games:
- Mets Farm Report (@MetsFarmReport) August 27, 2019
.385 AVG 👀
.641 SLG 💪
5 SB 🏃
The @RumblePoniesBB shortstop is on fire. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/FXoQ3FGdn4
Matthew Allan, RHP, Short Season-A Brooklyn -- ETA 2023 (No. 4)
The top pitching prospect for the Mets, Allan joined Baty with Short Season-A Brooklyn. A third-round pick in June's draft, Allan debuted Saturday with the Cyclones, allowing two runs on five hits in 2.0 innings of relief. Allan added three strikeouts to one walk, throwing 34 pitches but pounding the zone, firing 25 strikes.
"Big, strong and physical, Allan has seen all of his stuff play up during his senior season," said Allan's MLB.com scouting report. "His four-seam fastball touches 97 mph on a regular basis and he maintains that velocity deep into starts."
Francisco Alvarez, C, Rookie level Kingsport -- ETA 2023 (No. 5)
Alvarez's season ended as the Rookie level Kingsport's slate completed last week. In two of the team's three games against the St. Louis Cardinals' Johnson City Cardinals, Alvarez went 3-for-10. All three hits -- including a home run and three RBI -- came from last Monday's game in which he went 3-for-6 and scored two runs. In 35 games at the level, the 17-year-old Alavarez slashed .282/.377/.443 with five home runs and 16 RBI.
"A compact swing and solid approach allow Alvarez to hit to all fields, and he has plenty of raw power to continue to tap into," said Alvarez's MLB.com scouting report.
Mark Vientos, 3B, Low-A Columbia -- ETA 2022 (No. 6)
Vientos, 19, spent majority of his season -- 111 games -- with Mauricio and the Low-A Columbia Fireflies. On the season at the level, he slashed .255/.300/.411 with 12 home runs and 62 RBI. Over his final five games from last Tuesday to Sunday, Vientos struggled, going 2-for-20 with nine strikeouts but recording two RBI.
David Peterson, LHP, Double-A Binghamton -- ETA 2020 (No. 7)
Peterson's last start with Double-A Binghamton came last Friday when he logged 6.2 innings of one run on three hits, striking out 10 and walking none. On the season, Peterson is 3-6 with a 4.19 ERA, striking out 122 while walking 37 in 24 starts over 116.0 innings.
Shervyen Newton, SS, Low-A Columbia -- ETA 2022 (No. 8)
Newton's season wound down with Low-A Columbia, where he had slashed .209/.283/.330 with nine home runs and 32 RBI in 109 games. Over his final five games, Newton went 4-for-17, drawing two walks and striking out six times.
Josh Wolf, RHP, Rookie level GCL -- ETA 2023 (No. 9)
Drafted by the Mets in the second round of June's draft, Wolf's Rookie level GCL season ended with his last outing Aug. 24 -- 2.0 scoreless innings of one hit and four strikeouts without a walk. Wolf sported a 3.38 ERA with nine hits allowed to 12 strikeouts and one walk over 8.0 in five starts.
"Though Wolf's changeup isn't as effective as his other two pitches, he'll flash some solid ones with fade and tumble," said Wolf's MLB.com scouting report. "He already shows the aptitude to work both sides of the plate and all four quadrants of the strike zone."
Franklyn Kilome, RHP, Rehabbing from Tommy John surgery -- ETA 2020 (No. 10)
Kilome, 24, is slated to return for 2020. Acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in the July 2018 Asdrubal Cabrera, Kilome flashed before his injury. When he comes back, the starting point still projects as the Double-A level with a chance to crack the big leagues later on in 2020 if rehab goes well.
Kevin Smith, LHP, Double-A Binghamton -- ETA 2022 (No. 11)
Recently profiled by DeMayo, Smith was with Double-A Binghamton since July 20. His last start came Aug. 18 when he went 4.0 innings and allowed six runs on eight hits with three strikeouts to two walks. Overall on the season with High-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton, Smith went 8-7 with a 3.15 ERA over 117.0 innings in 23 starts, striking out 130 while walking 39.
"Smith's extension along with his long arm action on the backside makes him difficult to time, let alone square up, and he's had no problems carving up hitters on both sides of the plate early in his career," said Smith's MLB.com scouting report. "With more development, he could carve out a role as a No. 4 starter in the big leagues, while his size, angle and stuff give him a solid floor as a bullpen asset."
Thomas Szapucki, LHP, Double-A Binghamton -- ETA 2021 (No. 12)
Szapucki, 23, threw 4.0 innings with one run (none earned) on two hits last Monday of his season debut with Double-A Binghamton. He struck out four and walked one, tossing 81 pitches -- 49 strikes -- in his first start. The outing also marked his last of the season. Including stints with Low-A Columbia and High-A St. Lucie, Szapucki's overall season in the minors concluded with a 1-3 record and 2.63 ERA over 61.1 innings in 21 games (18 starts), striking out 72 and walking 26.
.@ThomasSzapucki made his @RumblePoniesBB debut yesterday and did not disappoint. 👏 pic.twitter.com/XJ9x70OOds
- Mets Farm Report (@MetsFarmReport) August 27, 2019
"Szapucki has the makings of a very effective three-pitch mix when he's healthy," said Szapucki's MLB.com scouting report. "His explosive fastball is electric with plus life, and he throws it in the 92-97 mph range. His power breaking ball can be a second plus pitch which freezes hitters and misses bats. There's a solid changeup in there as well, one with terrific fade and sink, though it was less consistent than the other two offerings."