Photo by Logan Barer
The Arizona Fall League has announced their All Star rosters with INF Luis Guillorme and C Tomas Nido being named as All Stars for the Eastern Division. The two highest rated prospects in the Arizona Fall League according to MLB Pipeline were the only Mets prospects to make the All Star team.
Guillorme has played in six games this season, and he has gotten a hit in each and every game played. Overall, he is hitting an impressive .385/.407/.462. It’s also important to note a player who has been focusing on hitting for more power has hit a double in two out of his last three games. Defensively, Guillorme has been terrific in his time split between second and short with him having a few highlight reel plays.
Nido has not had as good a season as Guillorme. In his eight games played, he is hitting .212/.297/.424. It should be noted the catching prospect did win the league’s Hitting Challenge, and he is fifth in the league in doubles (4). Defensively, Nido has not been his usual stellar with him struggling to throw out base stealers and his recording a few passed balls.
While Guillorme and Nido made the team, there were more than a few Mets prospects snubbed. Kevin Kaczmarski is hitting .400/.455/.500, and he has recorded a hit in nine of the 10 games he has played. He is second in the league in batting average, third in OBP, eighth in OPS (1.005), fourth in hits (16), and eighth in total bases (22).
David Thompson has been similarly tearing the cover off the ball hitting .364/.400/.636 in eight games played. Thompson is fifth in doubles (4), ninth in batting average, fifth in slugging, and sixth in OPS (1.005).
Kaczmarski and Thompson join a group of Mets pitching prospects who have been similarly snubbed. Mickey Jannis has allowed just one earned run in three starts. Kyle Regnault has a 1.17 ERA in four appearances. Matt Pobereyko has a 0.90 WHIP and a 12.1 K/9. Tim Peterson has a 1.69 ERA in four appearances.
Overall, the Mets prospects as a collective have put forth a solid season so far during Arizona Fall League play. This season should serve as a stepping stone as each one of these players hopefully become significant contributors for the New York Mets in the future.
Honestly, sometimes baseball is a little too full of itself and its traditions. The whole AFL season is only six weeks long. Is there really a need or value to naming a mid-season all-star team? They couldn’t wait until the end of the season? the all-stars Naming an “all-star” team could’ve waited until after the six-week season ended. Naming a team now is almost as silly as it gets. We all know that these sample sizes are too small to mean anything (even if we choose to ignore that at times). And three weeks is just about the time at which the rest of the league starts to figure a player out and shut down a hot hitter or start hitting a previously tough pitcher. So these snubs are meaningless to me.
That said, given Nido’s struggles early on, his inclusion on the AS teams strongly suggests that the selections were based on more the players’ perceived talent/potential than their actual on-field performance on the field.