This is the final part of our series of Mets Minors All-Stars, our staff has selected the bench players. When ranking these players, we selected them based up on their performance during the 2017 and not their prospect status:
Jhoan Urena – Poised to have a breakout season, Jhoan Urena lived up to the expectations this year. In 67 games for St. Lucie, Urena hit .282/.364/.437 with 129 hits, 34 doubles, 72 runs and 200 total bases, all which were among the Florida State League leaders.
The 22-year-old also showed defensive versatility this season as he played first base, third base, left field, and right field. The switch-hitter’s breakout was fueled by an increase in his line-drive percentage and a .351 BABIP.
Yoel Romero – He was one of the many young prospects who had a tremendous year in the Dominican Summer League. Hitting .364/.439/.464, he dominated the DSL2 as a teenager. Romero delivered a breakout year, proving the Mets made a good investment when they spent 300,000 dollars on him in 2015.
His 87 hits and .364 average were tops in the league while his 111 total bases and .439 OBP placed him among league leaders. His incredible slash-line was inflamed by his .407 BABIP and his 34 game on-base streak to conclude the year. Although in his career, he’s played six different positions, he stuck to third base in 2017, only committing two errors there. Nevertheless, the 19-year-old enhanced his value with his production and his defensive versatility in 2017.
Patrick Mazeika – As a 24-year-old, Patrick Mazeika excelled in his first year in St.Lucie. Every level he’s played at in his minor league career he’s hit at and this season was no different as he had a .287/.384/.406 slash-line with 21 doubles and 48 walks.
The 8th-round pick in 2015, Mazeika hit the ground running this year as he hit .305/.391/.462 in the first half. Mazeika finally showed some power as he had .515 SLG in April and May. After his dominant tenure in St.Lucie, Mazeika was promoted to Binghamton to help the Rumble Ponies’s playoff run.
Dominic Smith – Dubbed the first baseman of the future, Dom Smith showed why the Mets picked him in the first round in 2013. Hitting .330/.386/.519 with the 51s, Smith begun to tap into his raw power.
The 22-year-old continued his raved-about defense, although he did struggle in this category in his MLB promotion. He finished among the PCL leaders in AVG, OBP, hits, doubles, and total bases. The Californian was finally called up to help the Mets on August 9th.
Walter Rasquin – With the graduation of Amed Rosario, Walter Rasquin became arguably the second-fastest player in the Mets farm system. He stole 32 bases, which broke Angel Pagan’s Cyclones stolen base record. Rasquin shined after the All-Star Break, hitting .316/.356/.456 in his final 22 games.
Overall he hit .300/.341/.407 with 73 hits, 21 doubles and 41 runs, all which were top-5 in the New York-Penn League.
PREVIOUS ALL STARS:
Im curious to see what position Mets put Jhoan Urena at in 2018. Or do they go full on utility role with him.
I never got to see him play OF in Lucie.
He’s still a work in progress at 3B.
I actually liked him at 1B.
He is turning into quite the non-prospect. It took him 3 seasons to get thru the FSL, mostly due to injuries. He needs to have a good year.
I think his future is as an undersized 1b.
Wow… Urena sure gets an awful lot of attention around here. I’m not sure what expectations he lived up to. He hit a ton for six weeks, then put up unspectacular numbers after that: .251/.330/.387 in PSL. There’s nothing wrong with that, but its haedlt noteworthy. Especially for a guy making his third pass through that league. More importantly, he’s got only one year left with the Mets until free agency. He needs to establish himself well enough to get onto the 40-man or else he becomes a non-issue for us.
I don’t think they’ve formulated an answer yet. Who they acquire the rest of the off season will probably play a role. But I also don’t think 1B makes much sense for the Mets. With Dom Smith and Alonso ahead of him and only one more year till Urena’s free agency, it seems like a pointless endeavor. OF is where the org is weakest, and 3B is another place where they currently lack depth. He has to both have a good season, and have it at a position of need in order to get himself on the 40-man. If not, its all a moot point.
I’d take Yoel Romero’s numbers with a big grain of salt. He was a 19-year old playing against guys mostly two years younger than him. At that age, its a big difference. Not many kids in that league are as big as 6′, 180. That strength advantage may have a lot to do with his .400+ BABIP, which is completely unsustainable as he moves up. He’s already three years into his career and his R5/free agency clock and still hasn’t made it stateside. He’d have to make a lot of jumps to get to a point where he’d be added to the roster before then.