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Mets Make Slew Of Moves In System, Experts Weigh In

By Jack Ramsey

January 11, 2019 No comments

A slew of moves made to the Mets’ farm system began over the weekend where Brodie Van Wagenen made a few moves. Van Wagenen would swing a deal that would bring infielders J.D. Davis and Cody Bohanek to the Mets from the Astros for infielder Luis Santana, outfielder Ross Adolph, and catcher Scott Manea. Santana and Adolph were featured in MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Prospects List for the Mets, and our own Mets Minors Top Prospects List. Davis will fight for a spot on the Mets opening day roster as a corner infielder.

Bohanek, 23, was a thirtieth round pick in 2017 out of Illinois-Chicago. A shortstop by trade, Bohanek can provide versatility around the infield. Over his first two profesional seasons, Bohanek has slashed .225/.334/.306. He has shown signs of being able to be a decent base-stealer, swiping 14 in 19 attempts during his 2018 campaign.

Van Wagenen would also turn and deal catcher Kevin Plawecki to the Indians for pitcher Walker Lockett and infielder Sam Haggerty

Haggerty, 24, has never been one to hit for much in his minor league career, posting a slash line of .244/.349/.373 over four minor league seasons. However, he has stolen 90 career bases and only been thrown out 22 times over the same timespan.

Lockett, 24, made his MLB debut with the Padres last season before being traded to the Indians. He threw fifteen innings, and posted a 9.60 ERA over three starts and one relief appearance. Lockett has been inserted into FranGraphs‘ Top 25 Prospects list for the Mets, and number 17. He was followed by Sam Haggerty at number 18.

When talking about shortstop prospect Shervyen Newton, Fangraphs would say “…the ceiling on Newton if everything actualizes is superstardom.” Newton spent last season in Kimgsport with the Mets, and is expected to see a breakout season this year.

On another shortstop prospect, MLB Pipeline gave prospect L.A. Woodard the nod as the best base stealer in the Mets’ system after stealing 23 last season. Woodard was a 16th round pick.

MiLB.com went into detail on the top prospects in the NL East, citing a few big names for the Mets. As for their most ready prospect, they chose super-prospect Peter Alonso for obvious reasons. They say not to sleep on catcher Patrick Mazeika due to lack of catching depth and the Steamer says he projects to be a 1.4 WAR catcher in 2018, fourth best for any Mets catcher.

They also cite Andres Gimenez as the 55th overall prospect in baseball, and mention that the Gimenez vs Amed Rosario debate will be an interesting one come 2020. They urge fans to be patient on Frankly Kilome, saying progressions last season were positive after being trade for Asdrubal Cabrera, and showed solid signs in the Mets system. He will miss all of 2019 with Tommy John surgery but will be back come 2019.