(TCPalm.com/Helene Haessler)
Luis Rojas will manage the St. Lucie Mets for the second straight year with a new pitching coach Marc Valdes and new hitting coach Valentino Pascucci who were both promoted from Savannah. They will look to improve on a disappointing 68-70 record in 2015 and their first division title since 2011. The amount of position player talent (4 top 20 MMN prospects) on this roster makes them the must watch team in the Mets farm system this year.
If I lived in the Port St. Lucie area I would be at every home to watch the new double play combination of Amed Rosario and Luis Guillorme. Rosario, our #2 Mets prospect, is returning to the PSL where he started the 2015 season. Guillorme, our #16 Mets prospect, will move over to second base despite being a defensive whiz at shortstop and help create one of the best DP combos in the minor leagues.
They will be joined in the infield by our #13 Mets prospect Jhoan Urena looking to come back healthy from a rough 2015 season. Newcomer Michael Katz should get a good chunk of the starts at first base after playing there 53 times last year between Savannah and the Brooklyn Cyclones. Phillip Evans will return for his third season in St. Lucie and newcomer Kevin Taylor signed out of Indy ball finish out the impressive infield.
The outfield will be anchored by our #6 Mets prospect Wuilmer Becerra who hit .290/.342/.423 with 16 stolen bases in 118 games for the Savannah Sand Gnats in 2015. John Mora will be the other everyday outfielder after a strong 2015 performance in which he hit 22 doubles, 12 triples and five homeruns. They will be joined speedsters Champ Stuart and Patrick Biondi who stole a combined 59 bases in 2015.
Tomas Nido will take the place as the St. Lucie Mets everyday catcher and will be backed up by Cuban Lednier Ricardo who is returning to the team.
The rotation will consist of six right-handed pitchers including the 6’8″ Josh Prevost, breakout candidate Chris Flexen, former Indy ball pitcher Casey Delgado, control specialist Corey Oswalt, Ricky Knapp and hard thrower Scarlyn Reyes.
Jimmy Duff, Robert Coles, Kevin McGowan, and Tim Peterson will all return to St. Lucie and work out of the bullpen this season. They are joined by newcomers LHP Alberto Baldonado, LHP Ben Griset, and 2015 7th round pick RHP Corey Taylor.
The St. Lucie Mets will begin the 2016 season with a quick two-game home set at Tradition Field against the Jupiter Hammerheads starting tonight at 6:30 PM ET. They will play 16 of their first 22 games at home but play only six home games in the whole month of June.
