Who’s the diamond in the rough?

by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

Mets owner Steve Cohen has not been shy about spending money on big-name free agents.

Yes, it can be argued whether signing Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander to $43 million per year salaries, as well as having signed shortstop Francisco Lindor in 2021 to an 11-year, $341 million deal, were prudent use of financial resources. Nonetheless, the ability of a baseball team to attract highpriced talent leads to better attendance and more lucrative sponsorship deals.

The key to long-term sustainable success, however, is having a fruitful minor league system, as both the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros have shown, much to the consternation of Mets and Yankees fans.

Mets fans will not want to hear this, but it does not appear immediate help from their team’s minor league affiliates is likely. Injuries to, and poor performance by, Mets varsity players such as catcher Omar Narvaez, Eduardo Escobar and Daniel Vogelbach forced General Manager Billy Eppler to bring up Francisco Alvarez, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, respectively, from their AAA Syracuse Mets farm club.

offensive abilities. The problem is that he was signed as a shortstop, a position, which, for better or worse, appears to be the domain of Francisco Lindor for the rest of this decade. The Mets are wisely using the 2023 season to allow Mauricio to try his hand at the other infield positions, and even to let him get experience in the outfield.

Two other Syracuse Mets players worth tracking, aside from starting pitcher David Peterson, who got demoted from Queens to central New York State because of his inability to get major league hitters out, are Jose Butto and Josh Walker.

Butto is a 25-year-old starting pitcher from Venezuela who can strike people out. He was called up as an emergency starter for the Mets earlier this year and got clobbered, but it may not be fair to extrapolate much from that one game.

Future Anticipation

That has decimated the Syracuse Mets of quality young talent, save for the current top prospect in the Mets organization, Ronny Mauricio. There is little doubt about Mauricio’s

Walker is 28, which is ancient for a minor league pitcher. In fairness, Walker spent four years in college, and has battled injuries. The Mets converted him from a starter to a reliever, and the move is paying off for the 6-foot, 6-inch righthander as he has become a lights-out closer for Syracuse. Given the putrid state of the New York Mets bullpen, Walker recently earned a chance to apply his skills in Flushing sooner than later, being recalled to the big league club in June. He has been sharp in three relief appearances for the Mets, which has increased his immediate worth in the organization.

The Mets AA team, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, have some potential big leaguers on their roster.

Right-handed starting pitcher Dominic Hamel was a third-round pick for the Mets in the 2021 amateur draft. He is still considered a top prospect, but his earned run average of more than 5 this season is concerning at the AA level. While Hamel’s performance has been below par, Mets brass must be impressed with his fellow starter, Mike Vasil, who was named the Eastern League player of the month in May. Vasil, a 23-year-old, 6-foot, 5-inch Bostonian, was chosen five rounds after Hamel in the 2021 draft. He has averaged one strikeout per inning, while still having solid control as he does not walk many opposing hitters. Following that impressive month, Vasil was promoted to AAA Syracuse in mid-June.

Former WFAN air personality, and respected baseball photographer, Mike McCann now lives in central New York State. He told me he is impressed with Rumble Ponies third baseman Jose Peroza and outfielder Matt Rudick. According to McCann, Peroza is a solid contact hitter who can hit an occasional home run, while the 5-foot, 6-inch Rudick reminds him of diminutive Houston Astros star Jose Altuve in that he hits for both power and average and can steal a base as well.

Speaking of diminutive players, the Mets are optimistic about 19-year-old, 5-foot, 8-inch shortstop Jett Williams, who was a Top-14 pick in the 2022 draft. Williams is playing for the Mets A-level team, and scouts say he has good range in the field and a solid knowledge of the strike zone. The Mets will not rush Williams through their farm system.

Also chosen in the first round of the 2022 draft was Georgia Tech catcher Kevin Parada, who is now playing nearby for the Mets “high-A” team, the Brooklyn Cyclones. Parada is known for his defensive skills behind the plate, and he has home run power. The downside is he has a tendency not to be selective when hitting, and he winds up swinging at pitches out of the strike zone.

Twenty-year-old wiry Brooklyn Cyclones centerfielder Alex Ramirez may be the most intriguing player to watch if you go to Coney Island. Ramirez has a golden arm and can cover a lot of real estate in a hurry when it comes to tracking down fly balls. He is unusual, though, in that he can hit for average but strikes out a lot for a player not known for home run power.

The highest-ranked prospect on the Brooklyn Cyclones pitching staff is 6-foot, 4-inch former University of Tennessee hurler Blade Tidwell. Scouting reports say he can hit 95 mph on the speed gun and can throw a devastating slider in the upper 80s range. Tidwell’s earned run average is around 5, which is not great, but it should go down with experience and adjustments.

Predicting success in the majors for any minor leaguer is risky business for a variety of reasons. The Mets had lofty expectations for pitcher Matt Allan, whom they selected in the third round of the 2019 amateur draft. Allan had Tommy John surgery in the spring of 2021, and then had to have elbow surgery this past spring. Allan is only 21, and he and the Mets are hoping his youthful age will help him overcome the bad luck he has endured since signing a professional baseball contract. Q