Things are more exciting than ever for the big league New York Mets, but the seasons of their minor league affiliates have all come to an end. We covered the regular and postseason demises of all of the individual teams last week; this week, we’ll be taking a look at the season as a whole as well as the Mets minor league breakout stars, improving young players, and disappointing prospects. Let’s get started.
Signings and Roster Moves
Active rosters expanded to 40 on September 1st and won’t contract again until the postseason begins, so there’s been no reason for the Mets to make roster moves. They were quiet all week.
Around the Minors – season recap edition
The minor league Mets are all done for the season, so we’re going to check in with some of the Mets’ most important prospects. We’ve chosen six guys that were generally agreed to be among the Mets’ elite prospects at the start of the season. We’re limiting the selection to players that started in the minor leagues for reasons other than injuries.
RHP Noah Syndergaard, 23 years old
Syndergaard made his big-league debut in 2014, but he started this year in Las Vegas with the Mets Triple-A squad. He made three starts for the Las Vegas 51s and won all of them, accumulating a 1.82 ERA along the way. Syndergaard was always going to make his way to the big leagues this season, but he helped force the issue with his excellent play. He’s the first of several players here that should make an impact in the postseason for the Mets.
LHP Steven Matz, 24 years old
Like Syndergaard, Matz is an impact pitcher that made his way to the big leagues this year. Matz’s path has been a bit messier, however. Matz was first optioned to the Double-A Binghamton Mets. He was bumped up to Las Vegas just two weeks later. He made it to the Mets in late June, well after Syndergaard did, but then got hurt and had to rehab in St. Lucie and Binghamton. He just recently came back to the Mets, and is expected to pitch in the postseason. The results have been good this year: Matz has an ERA of just over two in the minors (including those rehab appearances) and an ERA of 1.80 in the big leagues.
2B Dilson Herrera, 21 years old
Herrera is supposed to be the future of the Mets infield. He’s been in the minors for most of the year, where he’s been hitting like crazy. He has a .327 batting average over 81 games in AAA, which earned him 27 appearances for the big league team. He’s struggled at the highest level, however: he’s batted .185 in 82 at bats for the New York Mets. That’s no reason the panic: Herrera just needs a little more time.
OF Brandon Nimmo, 22 years old
Nimmo has been bouncing around the minors all year. He’s hit well, but not spectacularly: he recorded a .279 batting average in Binghamton, where he spent most of his year, and has hit .264 since his July promotion to Triple-A Las Vegas. The Mets haven’t needed him – they’ve had a surplus of outfielders since signing Yoenis Cespedes – so it’s just as well that he stay in the minors and keep developing.
RHP Rafael Montero, 24 years old
Rafael Montero has been one of the most exciting pitching prospects in a farm system full of them for years now, but he was the biggest disappointment of the year among the Mets prospects. He started the year in Las Vegas and was quickly called up, but was soon off again to rehab from an injury. Team doctors haven’t been able to find structural damage to Montero’s injured shoulder, and there’s a very real sense of frustration among the Mets brass about Montero’s extended rehab time. Montero continued to experience pain and setbacks, and eventually GM Sandy Alderson declared him out for the season.
LF Michael Conforto, 22 years old
Michael Conforto began the season toiling for Mets minor league affiliate Double-A Binghamton. He’s hit .312 at that level on the season, which got him called up to Citi Field. With New York, he’s hitting .286 and making a big impact for the Mets. Conforto was a promising prospect all along, but the speed of his rise has been a pleasant surprise for the Mets.
Other News
It’s starting to look very, very likely that some of the Mets’ minor league alums will be playing on the sport’s biggest stage this postseason. As of this writing, the Mets have a 6.0 game lead with 13 games left to play, which translates to a 98.8% chance of making that playoffs. Once there, the Mets will hope that their young stars can keep producing.
