Last year, Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil got their start in Double-A, and now they appear to be key pieces for the Mets in 2019. This year, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies will feature some of the Mets top prospects. If they develop in similar fashion to Alonso and McNeil, they will be making their cases to be part of the Major League club in 2020 or perhaps sooner.

That is the challenge before a new coaching staff led by former Red Sox Triple-A manager Kevin Boles. His coaching staff includes Tony Jaramillo (hitting coach), Jonathan Hurst (pitching coach), and Ender Chavez (bench coach).

Should the revamped coaching staff succeed next year, much like they have individually in their prior stops, we should not only see the top prospects develop, but we may also see an unexpected player put together a breakout season. We may also see Binhamton return to the postseason after missing out in 2018.

Take a look at our Triple-A roster projection.

Infield

Luis Carpio – Last year, Carpio reemerged from shoulder injuries highlighted by his big July where he hit .313/.364/.505. This has put him back on the radar, and he seems primed to have a breakout season this year.

Andres Gimenez – The Mets top prospect showed increased pop at the plate last year, and he should see increased time at second base to give him more defensive versatility and begin to make him more Major League ready.

Michael Paez – The infielder also caught some bullpens this offseason to increase his versatility. The 24-year-old had a .744 OPS for the St. Lucie Mets in 2018. 

Jason Krizan: Krizan has increased his defensive versatility over the years. After being drafted as an outfielder, he now plays first, second, and third in addition to his time in the outfield.

Will Toffey – Toffey will look to bounce back from offseason shoulder surgery. Despite playing through a separated shoulder for the majority of last season, Toffey still posted an impressive .254/.394/.433 slash-line.

Sam Haggerty – The versatile switch-hitter has experience at second, shortstop, third, center, and right field. In came to the Mets in the trade that sent Kevin Plawecki to the Indians.

Outfield

Barrett Barnes – Mets signed him in the offseason to a minor league deal. The former first round pick played the entire 2018 season in Atlantic League.

Kevin Kaczmarski – “Kacz” finally got a major-league call-up in 2018. The Mets 2015 ninth-rounder has consistently produced at a quality clip in the minors.

Braxton Lee – Lee utilizes his speed well in the outfield playing well at all three positions, and it led to him getting a cup of coffee with the Marlins last year. In eight games for the Marlins, he hit two doubles.

Travis Taijeron – Taijeron returns to the Mets organization after a one year stop in the Dodgers organization. In his career, he has provided power, and he still has a strong arm in right field.

All the veterans in Triple-A force some of these guys back down to Double-A. 

Catcher

Mitch Ghelfi – The switch hitting catcher was the Mets selection in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. Historically, he has been much better from the right-side of the plate.

Dustin Houle – Houle has been a solid defensive catcher in the Brewers organization, who has thrown out base runners at a better than league average clip.

Ali Sanchez – The defensive specialist impressed in the Arizona Fall League showing off terrific pop times with a strong and accurate arm. With his hamate bone injuries behind him, he could begin to fulfill his offensive potential.

Only two of these guys will likely be active at any time, but Mets like to have three catchers kicking around to catch bullpens and take place of injured played if need be. 

Rotation

David Peterson – MMN’s No.4 prospect begun the season strong with Columbia, quickly earning a promotion to St.Lucie. While he initially found it difficult to retire the advanced competition, he finished the season on a strong note, posting a 1.82 ERA in his last six starts in St.Lucie.

Anthony Kay – After undergoing Tommy John surgery shortly after being drafted, he made his professional debut last season showing promising peripherals (3.60 FIP, 23.2 K%) along with a curveball with a high spin rate.

Harol Gonzalez – Last year Gonzalez made strides in both his fastball velocity and his secondary pitches. That progress led to him having a strong season with St. Lucie and his making one strong start for Las Vegas before settling in Binghamton for the final month-and-a-half of the 2018 season.

P.J. Conlon – The lefty made his MLB debut last season though he did struggle. Will certainly see time in Triple-A this year as well. 

Mickey Jannis – Like many knuckleballers, Jannis has had uneven results, but when his knuckle ball is dancing, he is an effective pitcher. He seemed to once again figure things out last year posting a 2.19 ERA and a 3.00 K/BB ratio in the second half last year.

Bullpen

Matt Blackham – Blackham has a power arm, and he strikes out batters at a very high clip (12.3 career K/9). Should he improve his control and throw more strikes, he could be a breakout candidate from this bullpen.

David Roseboom – Roseboom has thrived in Double-A with a 2.26 ERA and pitching successfully in a variety of roles including LOOGY and closer. 

Stephen Nogosek – Nogosek is the only pitcher from the Addison Reed trade still in the organization. While his wildness remains an issue, he still strikes out batters at a high clip, and he has been very good against right-handed batters who hit just .184 off of him in 2018.

Joshua Torres – Righty that was great in Binghamton last year with 1.19 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 45 innings for the Rumble Ponies. He pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in big league camp this year.

Stephen Villines: The Mets’ 2017 10th rounder continued his journey up the Mets system with an outstanding season in 2018. He was invited to Major-League camp and should be in line for a major-league promotion sometime in 2019. He’s been a FIP-favorite for years as he has a career 13.1 K/9, 1.3 BB/9, and 0.4 HR/9.

Chris Mazza – Mazza had two separate dominating stints in the Independent Leagues which lead to him catching on with the Mariners minor leagues to end last season.

Corey Taylor – The right-hander was in big league camp again this season, he returns to Binghamton where he had a 2.41 ERA last season though with a 1.44 WHIP. 

Joseph Shaw – The right-hander struggled as a starter (6.49 ERA) for Binghamton last season.

Mostly, the success of the season will be judged by just how much Gimenez, Kay, and Peterson develop in 2019. Should they develop as expected, they could potentially find their way not just to Syracuse but Queens. That could also be the case for prospects like Carpio and Toffey. Certainly, quick promotions for them and potentially other players will help clear out the logjams here as well as Syracuse.

Certainly, it is difficult to pinpoint how the roster logjams are going to shake out. At the moment, the organization is still looking for places for players like Danny Espinosa and Ruben Tejada. That could force players like Gavin Cecchini or Dilson Herrera down to Double-A creating more of a logjam here, which would affect a player like Carpio. The logjam is also a potential reason why Binghamton will once again carry three catchers.

Righties Adonis Uceta and Austin McGeorge are two relievers that could land here as well, though there’s a chance both start the season on the injured list.