In Syracuse’s inaugural season as the Mets Triple-A affiliate, they are going to give fans plenty of reasons to come to the ballpark. First and foremost, there is Tebow, who has proven to be a draw at each stop in the minors.
More than that, Syracuse promises to put a good team on the field with a group of players who very well could have made a case to be on the Mets Opening Day roster.
The challenge for Tony DeFrancesco is finding time for all of these players to keep them ready in the event the Mets will need to call one of these players up to the majors. Part of that will be his working with players to make them more versatile.
Here’s the rest of the coaching staff: Glenn Abbott (pitching coach), Joel Chimelis (hitting coach), and Benny Distefano (bench coach).
For example, DeFrancesco worked with Jeff McNeil in the outfield last year, and absent injury, McNeil would have been the Mets Opening Day left fielder this year. Should he be once again successful at handling playing time and developing players, both the Syracuse and New York Mets will have a successful season.
INFIELDERS
Gavin Cecchini – Cecchini looked primed for a big season last year and could have been in the position McNeil found himself last year, but his season was derailed after fouling a ball off his foot effectively ending his season. With better health, he can re-establish himself this year.
Adeiny Hechavarria – After losing the Spring Training battle to Luis Guillorme, if Hechavarria does not exercise his opt out, he is slated to be Syracuse’s shortstop. In his Major League career, he has proven himself to be an excellent defender at the position posting a 22 DRS at the position in his career.
Dilson Herrera – Herrera returns to the Mets organization after having a strong stint for Cincinnati’s Triple-A affiliate hitting .298/.367/.465 while adding increased versatility in the field.
Dario Pizzano – The Columbia grad returns to New York. He is better suited defensively to first base over left field, and offensively, his minor league career .363 OBP shows he has the ability to get on base.
David Thompson – Thompson missed almost all of last year with a hand injury. He now returns with an opportunity to repeat the power he showed in Binghamton and the Arizona Fall League in 2017, and he can show he is the best defensive third baseman in the minors.
We think there’s a chance that Danny Espinosa either retires or gets released.
OUTFIELDERS
Gregor Blanco – Even though Blanco has lost a step and has declined offensively, he still remains a capable defender at all three outfield positions, and he serves as vital and quality depth.
Rajai Davis – At 38, Davis is still capable of playing center field, and he still has speed on the bases stealing over 20 bases in each of the past three seasons.
Carlos Gomez – This time, Gomez’s return to the Mets is for real, and he will serve as quality depth in the outfield. One interesting fact with Gomez is he has led the American League in HBP over the past two seasons.
Rymer Liriano – Liriano was once considered a top 100 prospect in the game. In his time in the minors, Liriano has shown power slugging over .450 in his four Triple-A seasons.
Tim Tebow – Tebow has spent time with Jay Gibbons over the past two years to help him improve to be a better hitter at the plate. It did pay dividends last year with him hitting .340/.364/.434 in July before going down with a hamate bone injury.
Catchers
Patrick Mazeika – Mazeika has been an offensive first catcher who posted a high OBP and good power numbers when he came out from behind the plate. Last year, he took strides forward defensively while struggling at the plate. It should be noted his struggles were partially the result of bad luck with him posting a career low .233 BABIP.
Rene Rivera – With Tomas Nido likely beginning the year on the Opening Day roster and Devin Mesoraco opting to retire instead of reporting to Syracuse, the Mets have brought back Noah Syndergaard‘s former personal catcher to the organization. He provides the team with depth as a defensive oriented catcher who is well acquainted with the Mets starting pitching staff.
STARTING PITCHERS
Chris Flexen – Flexen had offseason knee surgery, and he reported to Spring Training in terrific shape. The better health should permit him to return to the pitcher who posted a 1.66 ERA in seven starts with Binghamton in 2017 leading him to get called up to the majors.
Drew Gagnon – Gagnon returns after leading the Pacific Coast League in strikeouts, complete games, and shutouts. He also worked well in limited duty in the Mets bullpen.
Walker Lockett – When Lockett is going right, he is getting a large number of ground balls as evidenced by his 1.34 GB/FB ratio in Tirple-A and his 2.07 GB/FB rate last year.
Corey Oswalt – Oswalt has increased his fastball velocity in the offseason, which should help him look more like the 2018 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year.
Hector Santiago – Santiago has thrived as a starter in his Major League career as evidenced by his being an All-Star in 2015. However, as shown last year, he is much better in a relief role. In 43 relief appearances for the White Sox last year, he struck out 10.4 batters per nine innings.
Zach Lee – Mets gave the former Top 100 prospect a minor league deal this offseason. The right-hander has pitched in parts of two major league seasons.
One of these six will likely have to start in the bullpen or on the IL.
BULLPEN
Tyler Bashlor – Bashlor can ramp it up into the high 90s with his fastball, and in a small sample size last year, he showed he has the ability to pitch in the majors, especially when he was limited to just one inning of work.
Arquimedes Caminero – Caminero has returned stateside after a two year sojourn in Japan. That includes a dominant 2017 season when he had a 2.38 ERA and 29 saves.
Eric Hanhold – MLB Pipeline has rated Hanhold’s fastball as the single best tool in the Mets farm system. That fastball helped him strike out 11.4 batters per nine in Double-A, and it eventually led to him getting called up to the Mets in September.
Ryan O’Rourke – O’Rourke had a strong season as the Twins LOOGY in 2016 limiting left-handed hitters to a .077/.162/.192 batting line. After 2017 Tommy John surgery, he has been trying to find his way back to the majors, and if this Spring is any indication, it may be this season.
Jacob Rhame – Rhame bounced back-and-forth between Queens and Las Vegas last year, and his highlight was recording his first career save in a 12 inning game against the Nationals.
Paul Sewald – Sewald earned a spot on the Opening Day roster last year, and he had a very strong April with a 1.98 ERA. Like in 2017, he struggled with a heavy workload, and his performance would taper off from that point.
Ryder Ryan – Ryan was the Indians’ 30th round pick in 2016 and was the return for Jay Brucein 2017. Ryan offers mid-90 heat and a quality slider that can use an out pitch.
Daniel Zamora – Last year, Zamora showed his slider with a high spin rate will play at the Major League level as he struck out 16.0 batters per nine in 16 appearances with the Mets.
It’s tough to fill out this roster with only 25 guys and there’s likely a guy or two that will start the season on the injured list. In that case: LHP P.J. Conlon, RHP Corey Taylor, OF Kevin Kaczmarski, C Colton Plaia, OF Braxton Lee, RHP Joshua Torres, RHP Matt Blackham, RHP Mickey Jannis, and INF Sam Haggerty are all players that will be in the mix for this roster and likely play in Syracuse at some point in 2019.
Also believe it’s possible that newly signed Ruben Tejada starts in extended spring training.
