The New York Mets endured their sixth straight losing season in 2014, finishing 17 games back of the Washington Nationals in the National League East standings with 79 wins, after opening the season as distant 100/1 World Series longshots at sportsbooks available through http://www.bettingsports.com.
But while the big club has been a disappointment to fans and bettors in recent years, help may be on the way from young prospects in the Mets organization who made significant strides in their development in 2014.
Right-handed pitcher Noah Syndergaard joined the Mets in December 2012 in the trade that sent a NL Cy Young Award winner to the Toronto Blue Jays. It had been hoped that the 22 year-old, currently ranked 10th in MLB’s list of Top 100 prospects, would make the jump to the big leagues this season, but a series of minor injuries hampered the young fireballer early on that limited him to just 26 starts at AAA Las Vegas, winning nine games while posting a 4.60 ERA and striking out 145 batters.
Despite his struggles this season, Syndergaard remains the Mets top pitching prospect, and has benefited from his work this season with Las Vegas 51s pitching coach Frank Viola, who has overseen the youngster’s development. Former Cy Young winner and World Series MVP Frank Viola, has been instrumental in helping Syndergaard gain greater control over his dominating fastball, clocked at 100 mph, while preparing him to deal with the inevitable pressures he will face as a major league starter, which could be as early as next season.
The Mets acquired catcher Travis d’Arnaud in the same trade that brought Syndergaard into the organization, but it is 2012 first round pick Kevin Plawecki that has quickly emerged as the club’s catcher of the future.
Plawecki was a standout in college baseball prior to turning pro with the Mets organization, leading Purdue to their first Big Ten baseball championship in over 100 years while being named the 2012 Big Ten Player of the Year.
The 23 year-old moved up the minor league ranks quickly, making 43 appearances with Las Vegas this season, batting .283 with five homeruns and 21 RBI while earning starter’s honors at the 2014 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
d’Arnaud has cemented his role as starting backstop with the Mets since his arrival from Toronto. But with Plawecki demonstrating increased poise at the plate and making significant improvements in calling games from behind the plate, the Mets may soon be faced with the enviable problem of too much backstop talent in the system.