Our fourth and final full season projection is the inaugural roster for the Mets new Low-A affiliate Columbia Fireflies. The fans in South Carolina won’t be disappointed with a roster stacked full of potential. Unfortunately now, it seems that Desmond Lindsay will head to extended spring training to start the 2016 season. We still think he will end up in Columbia at some point this season.
Infielders
Milton Ramos – Should be the everyday shortstop, former 3rd rounder went 20-37 in last 10 games of 2015 season.
Dash Winningham – Powerful lefty should change named to Smash after tying for APPY League lead with 12 homeruns last season.
David Thompson – 2015 4th rounder struggled in pro debut hitting only .218/.268/.320 for the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Jean Rodriguez – Played 2B, SS, 3B, and left field last year for Savannah.
Vinny Siena – 14th rounder in 2015 that hit safely in 20 of first 22 pro games, played strictly second base.
Outfielders
Tucker Tharp – The former 30th round pick can play all three outfield spots.
Ivan Wilson – Good defender with a ton of power potential that has shown in games yet.
Kevin Kaczmarski – Lefty hitter that led the Appalachian League in pro debut with .355 average.
Joe Tuschak – 6th round pick from 2011 that will return to South Atlantic League.
Vicente Lupo – Physical specimen that struck out 133 times in 93 games in 2015.
Photo by Allan Greene
Catchers
Patrick Mazeika – Lefty hitting catcher had monster debut hitting .354/.451/.540 with only 26 strikeouts compared to 24 walks.
Tyler Moore – The 6th rounder from 2014 has played some 1B, 2B, and left field as well.
Starting Pitchers
Tyler Badamo – Contact pitcher that held opponents to .207 average last season. Needed only 63 pitches to finish 7 shutout innings on July 1st.
Chase Ingram – Recent Draftee with a low 90’s fastball and plus curve.
Joe Shaw – 2015 12th rounder with a 90-94 fastball, and average control. Needs to work on breakers.
Kevin Canelon – Lefty that walked only 15 batters last year compared to 70 K’s for Brooklyn.
Thomas McIlraith – 2015 draftee that had strong debut with 1.71 ERA and held opponents to .221 average.
(Jacob Resnick/MetsMinors.Net)
Relief Pitchers
Christian Montgomery – Allowed 14 runs in 15.2 innings for Savannah in 2015 but struck out 25.
P.J. Conlon – Crafty lefty that did not allow an earned run in his pro debut spanning 17 innings.
Witt Haggard – Struck out 21 batters in 12.1 innings in his pro debut.
Johnny Magliozzi – Righty that has spent parts of last two seasons with Brooklyn.
Corey Taylor – Mets 7th round pick last season had 1.50 ERA in first 18 pro innings.
Craig Missigman – Right-hander that held opponents to a .188 average in 2015.
Alex Palsha – Sterling Award (MVP) winner for Brooklyn last year, had 13 saves and 0.36 ERA.
Seth Davis – 29th round pick from 2015, struck out 22 batters in 19.1 innings last season.
Analysis:
Mazeika and Kaczmarski should have never been in Kingsport, skipping Brooklyn is a no-brainer for them and I don’t think the Mets will hesitate to move them to St. Lucie if either of them starts out hot. I would expect to see young catcher Jose Garcia get playing time with the Fireflies if/when Mazeika is moved up.
It will be interesting to see just how the Mets handle Thompson who has played some first base this spring and that is where I ultimately think he ends up. That would push Dash into some designated hitter duty. The infield depth isn’t set up great without middle infield prospect Luis Carpio who will miss the entire season after having shoulder surgery.
The pitching staff names aren’t going to jump out at you but I think they will be sneaky good with breakout candidates in Crismatt and Blackham. The bullpen should be solid with a good combination of strikeout pitchers, solid lefties, and ground ball pitchers.
Other pitchers to keep an eye on for the Fireflies roster this season are Raul Jacobson, Andrew Church, Matt Blackham, Tyler Bashlor, and infielder turned pitcher Pedro Perez.
I think there is a good chance you see Brandon Brosher (C), Hengelbert Rojas (OF), Jose Garcia (C), and Natanael Ramos (C/1B) get time with Columbia at some point this season.
ICYMI: here are our roster projections for the Las Vegas 51’s, Binghamton Mets, and St. Lucie Mets.
Is Reyes still with the organization or did he get selected in minor league portion of the rule 5?
Mazeika 17 HBP in 268 appearance
shade of a Ron Hunt type
Alfredo? Yes he was taken by the Pirates.
Thanks. I checked his bref but it hasn’t updated. Would be useful this year
He was HBP quite a bit in college as well but if you are using that 17 from his K-Mets stats, then it is VERY misleading. Mid 30’s might be more realistic for that number. Here in Kingsport last year during his rookie year, he was getting HBP as much as 2 times a game in some of them. The stats say in only 2 games but it was more than just 2 games. It got to be a joke with us. Will he hit the ball or will the ball hit him? There was even a 12 game streak where he took a HBP. Now having said that. This young man CAN play. This IS one of the best picks the Mets have made in quite some time. We were amazed at what this kid done while he was here and more amazed that he stayed here the entire season. Pay attention to this kid. He is also a great 1st baseman as well, and very fan friendly.
The MiLb page does a better job of updating players pages for stuff like that, easier to see too.
I was amazed he stayed there the whole season too, thought for sure after the start him and Kevin Kaczmarski had they would get moved up to Brooklyn.
If they start out here In Kingsport again it will only be because they have not made roster adjustments for them to be anywhere else, which is understandable as the Mets have lots of talent to organize. We are Advanced Rookie so not a bad thing and we do get a lot of 2 and 3 timers that have great talent. Most are for rehab or temps waiting to go up. Dash, Kevin and Patrick are talent that has got to move up and move up quickly. Too good to stay in the lower tiers. and keeping them from advancing in development is NOT good for the them or the METS. Someone mentioned they were good trade stock. I suppose you could look at them as such, but if you saw them play, these are stock you want to keep on your rosters unless you can get the next Babe Ruth for them.
Kaczmarski and Mazeika are definitely starting in Columbia but I don’t think they will stay there long before going to St. Lucie.
With Jonathan and Jose both in Columbia this year, they may stay in Columbia with them the entire season.
I highly doubt they do, especially Kaczmarski who is already 24, I expect the Mets will move him to St. Lucie after a good start to the season.
Jose is in Columbia now. He was in Kingsport for 3 years. Turned it around here but the reason was because he never liked to move players. He likes to win. Not one for moving his better players unless he has to or feels he can get a better player. He also has Jonathan back with him this year again. He did not have him last year. I would like to see Kaz advance. We never kept managers or coaches longer that a year here. Imagine our surprise having Jose 3 years and Jonathan 8 years. Other coaches done their jobs, develop them and move them up or send them home, so our players were always rotating. You never knew who was going to be here from day to day. With Jose, it was pretty steady.
I don´t understand the “they need someone who can play SS” comment when they have Ramos on the team. I thought Ramos was a highly regarded SS…
That comment was before we added Jean Rodriguez to this projection (originally though he was going to St. Lucie) and were referring to someone on the bench with experience at shortstop.