Photo by Ed Delany of MMN
Justin Guerrera, SS
B/T: R/R Ht: 5’9 Wt: 185 LBS
Age: January 11, 2000 (21 years old)
Acquired: 2021 Mets 20th round draft pick (Fairfield)
2021 Stats (Rookie FCL/Low-A St. Lucie): 105 AB, .286/.369/.495/,
Born and raised in Watertown, CT, Justin Guerrera has a real chance to become a bit of a local fan favorite for Mets fans as his career progresses.
Why do I say that?
Well, we all remember what a great story it was when local-product and underdog T.J. Rivera made it all the way to the Mets and showed he can do the things Mets fans love to see: barrel the baseball.
There are a number of similarities that the 21-year-old Guerrera evokes in comparison. As they say in scouting circles, hitters hit. Guerrera has a tremendous track record of hitting at every level thus far, from his fantastic 2021 season at Fairfield (.340/.409/.685), through his accomplishments with a wood bat in the Cape Cod League later that summer (.316/.411/.737), through his first 100 professional at-bats in the Mets system last summer, culminating in a promotion to full-season ball with St. Lucie.
#Mets 20th-round pick Justin Guerrera (@Stags_Base) has been promoted to Low-A St. Lucie.
In 11 games in the Florida Complex League, he hit .410/.478/.641 with two home runs. pic.twitter.com/fGTaY8MYwy
— Jacob Resnick (@Jacob_Resnick) August 24, 2021
Like Rivera, Justin Guerrera has shown a great ability to find the barrel, with quick hands through the box and a swing that stays short to the ball. Also like Rivera, Guerrera profiles as an adequate utility infielder defensively, as he saw time in the minor leagues last summer at shortstop, second base and third base.
With Guerrera standing in at just 5’9”, the Mets have shown a clear preference for looking past the absence of frame-based power projection if the player has demonstrated those coveted bat to ball skills. In Guerrera though, don’t be fooled by his height, as he packs some strength in his broad-shouldered frame and can find over-the-fence pop when he gets out in front and extends his hands. He did this in maybe the biggest moment in Fairfield baseball history at last years regional game against Arizona St. when he got extended and muscled out the game-clinching three-run home run.
With the 20th and final pick of their 2021 draft, the Mets seem to have landed a bat-first, hitterish utility infielder with some pop. This type of profile sometimes can get overlooked in scouting circles and fan circles for bigger, stronger, perhaps higher ceiling types. But that’s what makes players like Justin Guerrera so easy to root for.
