Joshua Walker, Photo by Ernest Dove
There’s always been a bit of ageism in the workplace for minor league baseball players. That comes with the territory in a game where physical skills are said to peak sometime in a young man’s 20’s, and evaluators mostly feel comfortable projecting physical and skill growth with those who are younger and/or less experienced.
While those cold hard truths may never fade completely, I believe that we have seen a renaissance across the game of some older, wiser athletes ever since the pandemic began.
While the loss of the 2020 minor league season cost almost everyone the time and chance to develop, it cost some their roster spots in a contracting minor league landscape. Many of those who were not released still had to find a way to hone their skills and continue their march towards their dream of making it to the big leagues.
It was either that or give up.
As the saying goes, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. I believe that is what’s happened for a few Mets minor league arms, and their impressive 2021 seasons illuminated that.
So, when you look at27 year old Connor Grey, for instance, you might quickly overlook what he did across two levels last season in the Mets system. But the Mets didn’t overlook Grey, as they chose him to be part of their Arizona Fall League (AFL) contingent after the regular season concluded.
Grey, a 20th round pick of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2016, was released by the club that drafted him when MLB announced that they were using the pandemic as an excuse to contract teams and roster spots across the board. Grey took an opportunity to keep his career alive in 2020, pitching in independent baseball for the Chicago Dogs.
The Mets took notice there of the St. Bonaventure University alum and after bringing him in for the 2021 season, Grey’s Mets career has not looked back.
The biggest thing to note about Grey is that he’s throwing harder than he ever has in his career. Now topping out at 93-94 mph, Grey has viable velocity to get major league hitters out. To supplement that velocity, Gray does two other things extremely well – he throws tons of strikes, and he really gets down the mound.
Grey repeats his fluid, balanced delivery from the right side extremely well, using drop and drive mechanics and a standard 3/4 arm slot. Standing a bit on the smaller side for a pitcher at 6’0, his ability to drive far down the mound gets him a flatter approach angle on his fastball when he locates it in the upper quadrants of the strike zone. Coupled with the newly-added ticks on his fastball, along with the solid 2200-2300+ rpm of spin and between 16 and 20 inches of induced vertical break (IVB) that it enables, and you can envision the pitch playing to an average grade at the next level.
The Mets have signed right-hander Connor Grey to a minor league deal.
Had a 3.18 ERA and 9.8 K/9 in six starts for the independent league Chicago Dogs this season.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) June 17, 2021
Grey complements his fastball with a plus curveball that features an 11-5 shape plus spin rates of 2800-2900 rpm and averaging around 60 inches of drop. Thrown in the upper 70s, the offering has desirable depth and shape. Grey also works in a hard slider in the mid 80s with good spin rates of around 2600+ rpm and primarily vertical action. He has also been working on a new changeup as recently as this past fall in the AFL. The entire profile is buoyed by his long-standing ability to limit free passes, with a career minor league walk rate of 2.23 per 9 innings. With a 62/16 K/BB ratio in 54 innings in the upper minors in 2021, Grey could be poised to insert his name amongst the highest level of pitching depth in the Mets system.
Grey was not the only success story the Mets plucked out of independent ball after the pandemic hit. Like Gray, Colby Morris, 24, brings an ever-improving skill-set to the mound.
Morris’ unique and impressive path to professional baseball began pitching Division III baseball at a small liberal arts school in Vermont, Middlebury College.
Since being tucked away in the green mountains, Morris busied himself with earning a bachelor’s degree in world economics, doing plenty of sports writing, some scouting, and even some firefighting, all while finding his way through various independent leagues as he simultaneously kept his playing hopes alive.
A young man of this kind of fortitude and wit unsurprisingly found himself training at Driveline in an attempt to become the best pitcher he could be. I have to tell you, the results are head-turning. At some point along the way recently, he turned at least one Mets scout’s head, and they signed Morris to a minor league contract last off-season.
Pitching mostly for the high-A Cyclones affiliate, Morris began his affiliated baseball career with an impressive 10.59 K/9 on the backs of a good-looking two-pitch mix. Morris gets plus raw spin (2400-2600+ rpm) on his fastball, allowing it to to get good ride and run. Though he sits primarily low 90s with the pitch, the plus movement allows it to play up.
Morris also shows great feel for a changeup, featuring late fade and tumble. He’ll situationally drop in a curveball for a called strike, but you can see below, his fastball-changeup combo has big-league potential.
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I recently completed my first affiliate season after an arduous journey from D3—>Indyball—>Mets. I’ve always thrown strikes but was often told I didn’t have the ‘stuff’ to play affiliate baseball. pic.twitter.com/rnfavmUIBS— Colby Morris (@Colbasaur08) October 18, 2021
Morris will take his trade to the upper minors in 2022, where he will have to limit free passes in order to continue his success. However, it is no accident that Morris has availed himself this far, and his curiosity, drive and intellect to actively develop his game is a big reason to keep an eye peeled to his progress.
Finally, we’re not going to conclude this series about older and impressive performers in the Mets system without discussing their MLB Pipeline 17th ranked prospect, Josh Walker.
While Walker calls the Mets his original professional home, being selected by them in the 37th round of the 2017 draft out of Division II program New Haven University, his path has been no less winding and arduous than those of Morris and Grey.
Walker’s career with the Mets was off to a fine start when he was blindsided by another driver in a car accident in 2019. Needing surgery to repair a popped nerve in his pitching arm, and then losing the 2020 season to the pandemic, Walker has not pitched nearly as much in recent years as his 27 years of age would suggest.
Walker did seem to come out of nowhere when he climbed three levels of the Mets system in 2021. Throwing 115 innings across 20 starts, Walker really limited base-runners, allowing only 89 hits and 29 walks, good for a minuscule WHIP of 1.02 . Taking part in near-no-hit bids twice last season, the big 6’6 left-hander finally started to get some notice.
While Walker’s raw stuff is not as imposing as his physical frame, there is plenty going on here to make him an interesting follow in 2022.
First, just like the previous names in this feature, Walker commands his pitch mix well, with a very fluid, repeatable long arm action. Walker also gets down the mound fairly well, enabling good extension from his long levers.
https://twitter.com/MetsFarmReport/status/1421166792794382338?s=20
That extension has been necessary to help what is currently fringe velocity, as Walker’s fastball generally sits close to 90 mph. Walker does not show a particularly quick arm, as most of his torque is generated with good hip-shoulder separation, but I do like to think that further arm strength/arm speed training could enable an extra tick or two of future velocity.
Walker really hits his spots and looks to induce weak contact, keeping hitters off-balance with his slurvy breaking ball and a changeup. Another potential plan for Walker could be to lower his arm slot from the more standard 3/4 slot he employs. The added deception and tough angle would really help his stuff play up, especially considering how his long levers would enable this specific modification. Such an adjustment could also add more sweep to his breaking ball, perhaps increasing it’s ability to induce swings and misses.
With Walker, Grey and Morris, you can really see that in today’s age of fast-paced change to new training modalities, unlocking abilities to train for velocity or improve pitch design, age is only but a number in some ways. The pandemic’s effects on the baseball landscape has only hastened the ability for those willing to work, train, and adjust their game to gain recognition and opportunity. Can these three continue their ascent towards their dream of pitching in the big leagues, and hopefully help the Mets big-league club in the near future? We’re about to find out.
