St. Lucie Season Review: Pitchers Lead The Way

Photo By Ernest Dove

It was an up and down season for the St. Lucie Mets who finished the year with a 68-66 record, putting them 4th in the Florida State League South Division. As has been the case often with the parent ball club, the Class High-A Affiliate was often lead by the pitching staff.

As a group the pitching staff ranked fourth in the Florida State League with a 3.39 ERA. The keywas the progress and development of the pitching. One of the headliners among the prospects was their opening day starter, 2018 draft pick Kevin Smith.

The 22 year old lefty showed good command of all of his pitches, including a low 90s fastball with movement, helping him lead the team in strikeouts recording 102 in just 85.2 innings. Sources tell this writer, Smith made mechanical adjustments during the year and improved his two-seamer. This helped him have a breakout season eventually leading to him being promoted to Double-A.

Another starter who began the year in St. Lucie and was promoted to Binghamton was Tony Dibrell. Dibrell made 16 starts for the club sporting a very solid 2.39 ERA leading the team with eight wins. The key to Dibrell success was movement, command, keeping the ball down with his low 90s fastball and his being able to utilize his breaking ball as an out pitch.

With Smith and Dibrell leading a strong rotation, Dedniel Nunez and Ryley Gilliam were two key arms in the bullpen. Both age 23, they utilized solid command of their pitches. Nunez topped 94 MPH with movement, and Gilliam hit 95 to go with a high spin rate breaking ball.Nunez unfortunately ended the season on the IL with an undisclosed injury and informed this writer he is spending he off-season resting up and getting healthy for 2020.

Ryley Gilliam opened a lot of eyes with his short lived stay with the club before his promotion, making seven appearances, pitching to a 2.53 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 10.2 innings of work.

When discussing the pitching staff, it is important to touch upon Thomas Szapucki, who returned from Tommy John surgery. Szapucki started the season with Columbia, and he would pass through St. Lucie en route to finishing the year with Binghamton. Even with him having some setbacks, there was some promise the once Top 100 prospect could return to firm wit him reportedly hitting 97 MPH on his fastball.

Other strong pitching performances included Tommy Wilson, who had a 2.01 ERA and a 1.052 WHIP. Yeizo Campos had an incredible 1.10 ERA in 19 appearances, and Darwin Ramos had a 1.43 ERA in 23 appearances. Andrew Mitchell struck out 30 in 28.2 innings. Blake Taylor moved to the bullpen and was a perfect 7-for-7 in save opportunities. In a span of 10 outings from July 2nd through August 7th, Marcel Renteria pitched a total of 19.2 scoreless innings, recording 20 strikeouts against five walks, allowing only seven hits during this stretch.

Regarding the offense, Carlos Cortes, who didn’t turn age 22 until end of June, had an impressive season leading the team in many categories and being in the top three in the league in total bases and RBI. Like last year, Cortes would show promising power with solid exit velocities.

While his .397 SLG may not appear to be an indicator of that power, it should be noted the Florida State League is a pitcher’s league. Case in point is Cortes’ slugging was the 12th best in the league and second best among second baseman. Ultimately, he showed how skilled he was with the bat as he had a 119 wRC+.

Beyond Cortes, there were some breakout performances. Quinn Brodey showed glimpses of why he was the Mets third round pick in the 2017 draft hitting .285/.335/.435 leading to his promotion to Binghamton. Upon his promotion to the team, Wagner Lagrange hit .293 in 36 games. Hansel Moreno flashed a strong arm and good defense after being moved to the outfield.

While the aforementioned had strong seasons, Jeremy Vasquez might’ve had the best season of any of St. Lucie’s hitters. He continued to show good plate discipline with a 11.0 percent walk rate on the season and finishing sixth in the league in walks. It was one of the reasons for his strong 123 wRC+ with St. Lucie. Ultimately, he finished the year with the 10th best OPS in the league.

Overall, St. Lucie had a strong season developing players leading to a number of them being promoted to Binghamton and some beyond that. When you are assessing the minor leauges, that is how you judge their success. As a result, this can be classified as a successful 2019 season for St. Lucie.