Photo by Ed Delany
Las Vegas 51s
MiLB Stats: 94 G, 425 PA, 393 AB, 66 R, 129 H, 19 2B, 7 3B, 7 HR, 58 RBI, 19 SB, 6 CS, .328/.367/.466
MLB Stats: 46 G, 170 PA, 165 AB, 16 R, 41 H, 4 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 7 SB, 3 CS, .248/.271/.394
MMN Rank: 1
Rosario entered 2017 as the top prospect in the Mets’ system and a consensus top 10 prospect in baseball. He met all expectations in AAA, combining an excellent .833 OPS with impressive defense and good speed. As a result, he earned a promotion to the MLB team immediately after the trade deadline. Rosario performed well upon his promotion, at times flashing his immense potential. The only concerning aspect of his big league performance was his plate discipline (he had just a 1.8% BB% and had a very high 28.8% K%), but these are likely just the result of expected growing pains while adjusting to the highest level. Rosario will be the Mets’ starting shortstop going into the 2018 season.
Binghamton Rumble Ponies
MiLB Stats: 82 G, 280 PA, 259 AB. 26 R, 68 H, 11 2B, 2 3B, HR, 24 RBI, 9 SB, 5 CS, .263/.302/.332
The Mets signed Nunez in May of 2017 and he would become the primary shortstop for the Rumble Ponies, playing more games at the position than anyone else on the team. However, he’s already 29 years old and is not an impressive hitter, so he is just an organizational depth piece at this time. He is a minor league free agent, but if he returns to the organization next season, he’ll fill a roster spot in Las Vegas or Binghamton.
MiLB Stats: 128 G, 558 PA, 481 AB, 70 R, 136 H, 20 2B, HR, 43 RBI, 4 SB, 3 CS, .283/.376/.331
MMN Rank: 13
Despite being regarded as one of the best fielders in the Mets organization, Guillorme actually spent most of his playing time at second base, likely in order to prepare him for a future utility role with the MLB team. As well as playing outstanding defense, Guillorme’s plate discipline and bat control are very impressive and continue to improve, as evidenced by his career high 12.9% walk rate and career low 9.9% strikeout rate. While his defense and plate discipline should allow him to contribute at the MLB level some time in the next couple of year, his lack of game power will likely limit his ceiling. Guillorme will probably be added to the 40-man roster over the offseason and will be the starting shortstop in Las Vegas next season.
St. Lucie Mets
MiLB Stats: 130 G, 509 PA, 453 AB, 51 R, 99 H, 26 2B, 6 3B, 4 HR, 40 RBI, 16 SB, 9 CS, .215/.267/.324
Despite spending most of his career splitting time evenly between second base, third base, and shortstop, due to injuries, the vast majority of Rodriguez’s playing time came at shortstop in 2017. The results were poor both offensively and defensively. His .591 OPS was his worst since his first professional season in 2011. He also made 31 errors at shortstop, indicating that he’s probably better off somewhere else on the diamond.
MiLB Stats: 54 G, 196 PA, 179 AB, 17 R, 27 H, 7 2B, HR, 6 RBI, .151/.214/.207
It was a lost season for Woodmansee, as he was sidelined after two games with a core injury which would require surgery. After missing almost three months he was never able to get on track and ended up with poor overall numbers for the season. Still, his bat does have some potential and he may be able to stick at shortstop for at least the near future. With a season at full health, he could have a bounce-back year in 2018.
Columbia Fireflies
MiLB Stats: 92 G, 399 PA, 347 AB, 50 R, 92 H, 9 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 31 RBI, 14 SB, 8 CS, .265/.346/.349
MMN Rank: 3
Most international prospects go from playing in the Dominican Summer League to one of the two rookie leagues when they come stateside. However, the Mets were so impressed with Gimenez that he skipped over three levels and spent all of 2017 with the Columbia Fireflies. His numbers were not eye-popping, but the fact that he was able to produce at all offensively in a league where he was three and a half years younger than the average player is extremely impressive. With the promotions of Rosario and Dominic Smith, Gimenez, arguably, becomes the best prospect in the entire Mets system. He has all of the tools to rise quickly through the system and become a successful major league player in several years.
Photo Credit – Allen Greene Photography
Short Season Shortstops
MiLB Stats: 51 G, 211 PA, 191 AB, 23 R, 50 H, 14 2B, 4 HR, 26 RBI, 2 CS, .262/.318/.398
MMN Rank: 10
When they drafted Vientos in the 2nd round of this June’s draft and gave him a bonus that was almost $500,000 over slot value, the Mets knew they were picking a player with enormous upside. After struggling a bit at first, Vientos flashed his potential, hitting .303/.342/.468 over the last month of the season. And he’s still just 17 years old. He’s already 6’4″ and has below average range, so it is very likely that he will have to shift off of shortstop in the near future, but his bat, if it develops as expected, should be more than enough to play any infield position. The sky is the limit for Vientos.
MiLB Stats: 37 G, 144 PA, 122 AB, 15 R, 22 H, 3 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 SB, 3 CS, .180/.301/.221
Snypes was drafted in the 15th round of the 2017 draft and was assigned to the Brooklyn Cyclones. Unfortunately, he quickly suffered an arm injury and his performance was poor as a result. It will be interesting to see where the Mets start him next year.
MiLB Stats: 38 G, 154 PA, 143 AB, 17 R, 31 H, 3 2B, 3B, 12 RBI, SB, 3 CS, .217/.257/.252
MMN Rank: 21
Guerrero, who was the Mets’ top signing during the 2015 international signing period, made his stateside debut, and put up unimpressive numbers for the second straight season. While a .575 OPS is not what you want to see from a top prospect through two professional seasons, it is important to note that Guerrero is still just 18 years old and was dealing with a shoulder injury for at least part of 2017. How much the shoulder issue affected his hitting is hard to say, but he did participate in the Mets’ instructional league this fall, so he appears to be healthy again. He still has immense talent, so when he finally puts it all together, he could quickly rise up prospect lists.
MiLB Stats: 57 G, 260 PA, 227 AB, 48 R, 67 H, 13 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 31 RBI, 14 SB, 4 CS, .295/.360/.432
After having a breakout 2016 season in which he hit .317/.367/.458, Moreno continued to hit in 2017. He got off to an extremely hot start in the GCL, hitting .387/.443/.500 before being promoted to the Kingsport. He cooled off a bit after his promotion, but was able to hold his own against the higher competition. These past two seasons have established Moreno as one of the more interesting young position players in the lower levels of the minor leagues.
Ronny Mauricio
MMN Rank: 26
This past July, the Mets gave Mauricio a $2.1 million signing bonus, surpassing Amed Rosario’s record for the largest bonus given to an international signee. Maricio was considered to be one of the top prospects in this year’s international free agent class, largely due to his excellent fielding ability and large offensive potential. At just 16 years old, Mauricio is far away from playing in the major leagues, but he has the potential to excel at the highest levels of professional baseball.
Three years ago this is the organization that fielded Flores and Tejada. Now it is on the cusp of being the good problem.
I watched Mauricio during the instructional period over the past few weeks. He is a polished fielder and seems to be a very promising hitter, although at 16 he is still a few years away.
Gullimore is a lock for the MLB