With 2015 now behind us we will look at how each of the Mets affiliates fared last year. We start with the team that won the most games this year.
One of the biggest bright spots was the Savannah Sand Gnats who went 84-53 including an 18-game winning streak that was the longest in the last ten years of minor league baseball. The streak wasn’t ended by a loss but an extremely rare tie in baseball that was brought on heavy rain to an already suspended game.
Their season ended unfortunately in the first round of the playoffs losing to the Asheville Tourists. During the regular season the Gnats were led by South Atlantic League Most Valuable Player Luis Guillorme who hit .318/.391/.354 with 55 RBI and 18 stolen bases.
Infielder Jonathan Johnson, starting pitcher Casey Meisner, and reliever David Roseboom were midseason All-Stars. The SAL post-season All-Star team included Gnats outfielder Wuilmer Becerra, manager Jose Leger, and Guillorme.
Offensive Leaders:
- Homeruns – Eudor Garcia 9, Becerra 9, Vicente Lupo 8, Michael Katz 6, Tomas Nido 6
- Triples – John Mora 12, Patrick Biondi 5, Jean Rodriguez 5, Garcia 4, Johnson 4
- Doubles – Becerra 27, Garcia 23, Mora 22, Johnson 19, Lupo 18, Guillorme 16
- AVG – Guillorme .318, Garcia .296, Becerra .290, Mora .278
- OBP – Johnson .396, Guillorme .391, Mora .368, Becerra .342
- SLG – Garcia .442, Mora .428, Becerra .423, Katz .395, Lupo .381
- Stolen Bases – Biondi 38, Johnson 23, Guillorme 18, Rodriguez 17, Becerra 16
- RBI – Becerra 63, Mora 60, Garcia 59, Guillorme 55, Rodriguez 44
- Runs – Johnson 73, Becerra 67, Guillorme 67, Mora 65, Garcia 57
Pitching Leaders:
- Wins – Corey Oswalt 11, Scarlyn Reyes 10, Casey Delgado 8, Ricky Knapp 8
- Starters ERA – Meisner 2.13, Martires Arias 2.43, Ricky Knapp 2.60, Delgado 3.17
- Starters WHIP – Meisner 1.026, Delgado 1.095, Arias 1.099, Knapp 1.239
- Saves – Jimmy Duff 12, Alberto Baldonado 9, David Roseboom 8
- Strikeouts – Arias 110, Oswalt 99, Knapp 91, Delgado 81, Reyes 78
- Reliever ERA – Roseboom 1.15, Paul Paez 1.36, Cameron Griffin 1.67
- Reliever WHIP – Roseboom 0.798, Luis Mateo 0.943, Paez 1.008
- SO/W – Paez 5.67, Duff 5.50, Chris Flexen 4.71, Oswalt 4.71, Knapp 4.55
The year was bittersweet though for the Gnats as it was also their last season as a Mets affiliate. The Mets new Class A team will be the Columbia Fireflies who will play at Spirit Communications Park in downtown Columbia, South Carolina.
Thanks for the update! Nice to see rise of another young talent. Wonder why Garcia is ranked low as 20th prospect.
Questions of whether or not he will be able to stick at 3B defensively is one of the big issues.
Will you be doing the 2 Domican teams as well?
Distance and questions about his position, also worth mentioning before his sophomore year at JuCo that he didn’t garner much (as in none) attention from scouts
I got to see the Sand Gnats 4 games this season, they were a fun team to watch. Aside from Becerra and Guillorme, there was probably 4 or 5 other future major leaguers that I got to see.
I am high on Mora, I think he has the makings of a solid 4th OF. I know not exactly a ringing endorsement, but plays all 3 OF positions and did the little things correctly (hit behind the runner on 2nd with 0 out, took an extra base on a throw to the plate)
Yes I will but haven’t decided yet if will be two different articles or one given a good number of players play for both during the year.
I am higher on Mora than most too, just seems to do all the little things right like you mentioned. Isn’t without skill either, gets on base, gap power, above average speed, and is a solid defender. I have seen a comparison of Endy Chavez.
Fair comp. I think we fans get distracted by the hype of the next great thing and don’t appreciate the solid major league contributor prospect. What gets lost is the fact that having 6 future major leaguers on a Low A team is nothing to sneeze at.
Of course and quite honestly I know some Mets fans just couldn’t care less about players in A-ball. Quantity is a good way to built a strong system too. The Mets have certainly seen the quality recently at Citi Field and used some of the quantity to supplement a team that went to the World Series.
Position and whether or not he will hit for average.