Pete Crow-Armstrong/Photo by Perfect Game
Despite the Mets’ instructional league being recently shutdown to two positive COVID-19 tests (as reported by former MMN writer Ernest Dove), many prospects showed promise during their month in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Perhaps the most impressive of the bunch came from the 2020 draft class in outfielders Pete Crow-Armstrong and Isaiah Greene. According to MLB.com, Crow-Armstrong started camp off slowly, but he eventually picked up the pace, played spectacular defense in center field, and did not disappoint at the plate.
“PCA is driving the ball to both gaps and hitting with some power … he hit a home run out at 107 mph a couple of days ago,” Mets executive of player development Jared Banner told MLB.com. “And obviously he’s playing premium, premium defense. You could put him in center field in a big league game today and he’d be one of the best.”
Greene has also impressed at the plate, being one of the best hitters in the Mets’ instructional league. The second-round compensatory pick has been hitting over .400 with a .500 on-base percentage.
“This guy’s fresh out of high school competing against guys who’ve been in pro ball for a few years,” Banner said. He’s controlling the strike zone, controlling at-bats. He’s been really impressive.”
Catcher Francisco Alvarez has performed well and improved in batting and fielding since his experience at the alternate training site in Brooklyn. Alvarez, the youngest player in camp at 18, has “so much potential” and has been “improving every day behind the plate,” according to Banner.
On the mound, Mets pitching prospects have continued to astonish, most notably righty Matthew Allan. Banner told MLB.com that the 2019 third-round draft pick has become more consistent with his three-pitch mix and has shown the ability to adjust when he’s in a jam.
20-year-old right-hander Josh Wolf has also shown improvement on the mound in instructional camp, enhancing his ability to execute and repeat his delivery.
“He’s been exceptional and pretty dominant in camp so far, throwing a lot of strikes, getting his breaking ball over and continuing to work on that changeup. The more he uses it, the better it gets,” Banner said. “He’s still so projectable and is going to gain a lot of strength as he gets older. We’re really excited about him.”
