(Courtesy Of The Guerrero Academy)

The Dominican Summer League has finished its regular season and neither of the Mets teams will be moving forward to the playoffs. As the level is designed to initiate players to organized baseball for the first time, the life, diet, training regimen, with some English courses mixed in; winning is almost secondary.

The DSL Mets1 finished the season with a record of 45-26, finishing second, 6.5 games behind in the North Division. The Manny Martinez managed team was stacked in mid-July when Andres Gimenez, Raul Beracierta, Edinson Valdez, and Nelmerson Xavier Angela moved from Mets2 and joined 2015 IFA signee Gregory Guerrero for a playoff push. But it was to late to make the difference.

It was Gimenez who received all the press, as he should with his league leading .469 OBP, 27 extra base hits and a 46/22 BB/K ratio. In the shadow of his impending stardom was the promising initial developmental steps of center fielder Beracierta .327/.397/.403, proto-typical right fielder Valdez .307/.357/.385, and pitcher Briam Campusano.

The David Davalillo led DSL Mets2 were nowhere near the playoffs finishing 27.5 out of first place with a record of 20-49. While their final record was obviously a direct reflection of the the migration of high end talent to the Mets1 team. There was still some performances worth noting.

Infielder David Lozano showed a good knowledge of the strike zone with 15 walks to only nine strikeouts. European import IF Shervyen Newton demonstrated a knack for getting on base, at a healthy .347 clip. 2016 IFA signee, second baseman Luis Santana reached base in 18 of the 22 games he played in, striking out less than 10% of the time. Not to be forgotten with what appears to be a classic Met name Wilmer Reyes (a SS of course) showed a solid combination of speed and power while boasting a .264/.305/.350 slash line.

On the mound he DSL Mets2 did not finish the season with any qualifying pitchers, but Jhoander Chourio allowed 23 hits in 36 innings and had a 2.25 ERA. Miguel Ramirez struck out 37 in 42 innings. Undersized (5’11” 155) Willy Tavares walked five while striking out 26 after signing in June.

Leaders listed are for the level not a specific team

Hitting Leaders

• Hits: Hansel Moreno 79 tied for sixth in league
• Runs: Hansel Moreno 53 third in league
• Doubles: Andres Gimenez 20 second in league
• Home Runs: Domingo Martinez 6
• Batting Average: Andres Gimenez .350 second in league
• On Base Percentage: Andres Gimenez .469 led the league
• Runs Batted In: Domingo Martinez 46 fifth in league
• Stolen Bases: Guillermo Grandillo 22
• Slugging: Andres Gimenez .523 third in league

Pitching Leaders

With piggybacking pitchers frequently in place, identifying starters and relievers becomes difficult. Utilized qualifier for league leaders as differentiating point. Pitchers needed 57.2 innings to qualify for league lead

• Wins: Ivan Santana 9 tied for second in league
• Innings: Ygnacio Rondon 70.2
• Qualified ERA: Briam Campusano 1.76
• Non-Qualified ERA: Kerwin Nieves 0.95
• Qualified WHIP: Briam Campusano 0.99
• Non-Qualified WHIP: Nelmerson Xavier Angela 0.89
• Strikeouts: Ivan Santana 82 second in league
• Saves: Nelson Leon 4
• SO/W: Yeizo Campos 5.22

Regardless of either team’s record, if a blue chip prospect is cultivated in any season, it is a success. To potentially have a couple is a Director of Player Development’s dream come true. Combined with some of the other prospects who have not received the fanfare but have shown that they could be future contributors is icing on the cake. There is a lot of interesting talent heading to the US next season. Don’t be surprised if there is a Luis Carpio like player among them.